Til Imprint Do Us Part
by pitt-writer7
Summary: ”You’re gonna have to find a way to heal from this, and then you’re going to have to find a way to rise above it.” “Why?” she asked angrily. “Because too many people are depending on you to do so. Because you’re the only one that can.”
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey Hey! This is the 3rd installment of The Dimprint Series so I suggest reading **The Dimprint**, and **In Bliss and Agony **before reading this. hmmm the italics button isn't listening to me...anyway enjoy

* * *

The forest is silent. There is no wind. The sky is eerily dark. She looks for the stars, but there's only one. The Sun. It didn't make sense.

_Why isn't it lighting up the sky?_

_She turns around still peering into the sky for clouds, trying to make sense of this strange place. The moon is in the sky as well, but she can clearly see the sun still…the useless sun._

_She spots a woman. The woman runs away. She follows. The woman momentarily disappears then reappears. She takes note of her surroundings. _

"_This is LaPush?" She asks the woman who still has her back to her pursuer."I know this place."_

"_Every Superman needs his fortress of solitude." At this the woman turns around. _

"_Emily?" She smiles. "How are y-you're dead."_

"_That I am Leah. This is your haven correct?" Her voice is distant, softer and sweeter than Leah remembered it. Or maybe it had always been like this and she just coated in her mind with disgust. Leah looked down at Emily and took note of her bulging stomach._

"_Why are you still pregnant?" Emily laughed. _

"_I assure you, there's no baby in here. This is the last way you remember me alive I suppose."_

"_This is a dream." Leah states. Emily nods. "Why did you bring me here?" Leah looks around the forest area that had kept her safe during the storm and where she had met Tamyra. Emily looked around the area as well before answering._

"_Truthfully I was curious about the place that took my place in your life." Leah shook her head in disagreement._

"_Em nothing took your place. This-this area just kept me out of some rain, it was purely logical on the dimprint's part-"_

"_That's what you're missing Leah. Do you think it was a coincidence that the place you felt the safest, the most secure, the happiest-was away from me?" Emily questioned sadly. _

"_Emily don't you dare make this about you. It was the storm that knocked out the electricity that night when we were talking on the phone."_

"_You met her here."_

"_Yes this is where I first met Tamyra but that means nothing. The dimprint bonded us together I had no control over that!"_

"_So you admit it?"Emily asked staring straight into Leah's eyes._

"_Admit what?"_

"_That you can't fight the imprint-"_

"_I admitted that I had no control over my dimprint! I didn't say a thing about that silly excuse for a soul mate finder! Don't think you can trick me into believing I'm the same as Sam!"_

"_I'm sorry-"_

"_I'm beyond sick of hearing that. Emily why are you so jealous anyways? You're dead for crying out loud!"_

"_The last month of my pregnancy, I started having these dreams…not unlike this one but I was in your place and-and-"_

"_Emily who were you talking to?" Leah asked concerned as to why the girl was having such trouble explaining._

"_Your father. He told me that when the baby was born, I would never see you again. I didn't think anything of it until you came to my house that day and I watched you collapse to the ground in pain. I knew then that something was going to happen. I thought that if I kept you near me, you would be safe but with Sam around I hardly saw you. He was so supportive I just-I let everyone believe it was the hormones because I needed you to be there at the birth. I was so sure…I was so sure you were going to die. I wanted to stop it from happening. I didn't accept it until-"_

"_-until I left you during Leo's birth," Leah finished for her."You accepted my fate, that's why you gave me that look." Leah thought back to the last moments she shared with Emily before leaving her mid birth._

"_Leah that wasn't your fate, it was mine but you have to understand. When you wake up, the world is going to seem… different." Leah huffed in true aggravation._

"_How much different can it get? I just got hurt in one of the last few ways where I can't heal. Everyone either expects me to go back to being a depressed harpy or bounce back immediately. I don't have the energy to do either!" Leah plopped to the ground exasperated. Emily's eyes turned kind once more as she took a few timid steps toward Leah. _

"_I know that you're weary from all the things that have happened to you but I can't let you give up. I see that look of defeat in your eyes. You've always been strong but that look comes and goes and it always made my heart ache." Emily lowered herself to Leah's level who still had not looked back into the other girl's eyes. "You're gonna have to find a way to heal from this, and then you're going to have to find a way to rise above it."_

"_Why?" Leah asked angrily._

"_Because too many people are depending on you to do so. Because you're the only one that can." Emily rubbed Leah's shoulder. Leah flinched realizing that she could feel the ghost like Emily. The two continued on like this in silence. They didn't know how long because time held no weight in this dream world._

"_Have you haunted Sam like this?"Leah asked whispering._

"_He hasn't let me in his dreams for the past week or so…"Emily trailed off then rose to her full height to walk a few steps away from Leah._

"_You're the one I've been dreaming about. This is the dream I haven't been able to remember every night since…then." Emily nodded her confirmation, "Is that why you're bothering me now?"_

"_It wasn't the only reason but I was hoping that you could talk to him."_

"_Sure sure,"Leah agreed upon realizing which 'him' she was talking about. "But how am I going to remember? I'll forget this as soon as I wake up."_

"_Did you forget who is mentally connected to you?"Emily said while tapping her head, "Whatever you forget…she'll remember. And whatever she forgets I'm sure the mind searching leech will gladly fill in the missing details." The two chuckled. When they settled back into a comfortable silence Leah stood._

"_Emily I wish-I wish things could have been different."_

"_Don't we all?" Emily revealed a smile that caused Leah to crack one of her own. Leah finally gave in and jogged to Emily. She wrapped the girl in a tight hug. It was eagerly returned. _

"_Em…you're starting to smell a lot like Seth…and Jacob."_

"_Hmm?" Emily's voice questioned distantly._

"_Emily I think I'm waking-"_

Bright light flooded into the already white room. Leah could faintly hear the buzzing of machines. At first she believed she was in a hospital but when the strong concentration of sickly sweet hit her nose she knew where she was. When some of the grogginess left her eyes she turned to her right side and met eyes with her Cullen hospital roommate.

"Leah I'm so jealous of you right now." Tamyra stated.

"Why?" Leah said her voice cracking slightly from having just woken.

"You have such vivid dreams."


	2. Chapter 1

"P-p-p-pregnant?" Seth stuttered his mind reeling.

"Perhaps it would be best if we stepped inside. I do believe the girls are awake now. Emmett could you stay just in case things get a little out of hand." Emmett jokingly saluted his father figure before winking at Seth. The five shell shocked guys followed the vampire doctor into the room. Tamyra turned around in her bed just as Leah began to sit up."Leah it's good to see you awake as well."

"Right." Leah responded the grogginess still in her voice.

"I might as well say this out right. I did some tests…well actually I ran a lot of tests to figure out why you," Carlisle pointed to Tamyra," could have possibly fainted. As I told you earlier when you first woke, that you were exhausted but I know that from your previous physical feats that there was no way you could have worn yourself out in the short amount of time you were training today. I figured that the intensity of your exhaustion also factored into Leah's collapse. What I wasn't expecting was for the two of you to have separate factors for being exhausted. After about an hour I decided to take another test and discovered that you are in fact pregnant."

"Tamyra's pregnant?" Leah asked just as the other girl gasped.

"You're…both pregnant." A void of silence fell over the room at this statement. Tamyra broke the silence.

"But Leah hasn't been with-oh Jesus no!" Tamyra covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes went wide.

"I can assure you this ain't baby Jesus!" Leah roared back in a mix of shock and disgust. Suddenly Leah's eyes went wide as well. "That means you-you-you slept with my brother?!" Seth cowered at his sister's tone while Tamyra held up her hands in surrender.

"I didn't mean to, it's just that you were reciprocating all those feelings of submission right back to me and they were completely overwhelming." Tamyra whined weakly.

"You abandoned me with your schizo lunatic of a brother so that you could-" Leah continued to bellow completely ignoring Tamyra's excuses.

"How far along are they?" Jacob asked interrupting the argument going on between the two girls.

"Three weeks." That stopped all other conversation. Everyone's head turned slowly to Carlisle.

"That's impossible! It's only been a week." Seth stated, a little embarrassed by his own words.

"I realize that. It took me an hour to figure they were pregnant and it took me another hour to figure out that the fetuses are developing 3 times faster than they should be."

"Wait so that means…"Jacob mused verbally.

"Your gestation period will only be 3 months by my calculations," Carlisle let the statement settle in everyone's minds before continuing, "I have some concerns. It seems that phasing while pregnant takes a great deal of extra energy which is why you are in this predicament. Tamyra, you have been phasing a great deal since the start of your pregnancy?" Tamyra nodded slowly. "It doesn't seem to be affecting the fetuses but I believe it better if I check to make sure." Tamyra hesitated. Seth could sense the awkwardness and discomfort in the request and jumped to her defense.

"Dr. Cullen I don't think we should risk-"

"I'll do it."

* * *

Everyone looked in Leah's direction when she spoke.

"You can check my…_mine_ if there's a risk." Leah knew that everyone was probably judging her at the moment. Before she could muse on the others' thoughts any longer she spoke again. "So doc where do you want me to phase?" The urgency caught Carlisle a little off guard but he told her to phase in the room. The boys left the room to give her privacy while Tamyra simply stared at her with a pity in her eyes. Leah ignored it. She quickly phased and barked to let Carlisle know he could enter again. Tamyra was surprisingly silent through the whole ordeal of giving Leah an ultrasound while in form.

"Oh my, this is incredible." Carlisle's tone of shock and intrigue caused Leah's head to whip around a little too quickly nearly throwing the vampire's hands away from her lower body. Edward had re-entered at some point to aid Carlisle. He also found the discovery startling.

"Leah it seems that when you phase, the fetus phases as well, taking on characteristics of a wolf fetus." Leah found the discovery strangely comical. It was at this point that she took note of any differences. She did feel extra weight in her abdomen and although it was barely noticeable to her, she could tell why it had slowed the other girl considerably.

"What about the whole…mix breed deal?" Tamyra asked quietly while subconsciously placing a hand on her stomach.

"I can only assume that when you phase, your fetus-"

"Baby." Tamyra quickly corrected. _She would take to this so quickly. _

"Of course. Your baby would take one panther characteristics." Although the thought slightly sickened her, Leah couldn't help but think how Seth could only father kittens for the rest of his life. _So much for that whole bit on imprinting making stronger wolves. _Leah barked a laugh earning her a concerned look from Carlisle while Edward attempted to hide his smile from having read her thoughts. After a few more moments Carlisle allowed Leah to phase back to human. Once dressed Tamyra broke the silence.

"Why were you so quick to volunteer?" Leah shrugged.

"Maybe because I don't care as much as you." Tamyra thought Leah's words over slowly before she let out an angry puff.

"You're not saying what I think that you're saying?" Leah rolled her eyes realizing that this was going to turn into an argument.

"I'm saying exactly what I said."

"Don't play games with me Leah Clearwater. You're saying that you don't want that baby."

"This fetus means nothing to me except an ingrained memory of the worst night of my life."

"It's not the baby's fault!"

"I don't care! I'm so sick of life right now and if this _thing_ inherits any part of my misfortune it's better off not living." The two sat in a tensed silence.

"Give it to me." She whispered.

"What?" Leah asked unbelieving.

"Leah don't even play that way, I know it wasn't too long ago that you were pitying yourself because you thought you couldn't have kids-"

"It doesn't matter! What gives you the right to ask for my kid? You're already bringing one into the world effectively ruining my brother's life by turning him into a teen parent! You are not going to be that selfish by trying to obtain another!" Leah yelled back.

"What is this really about?" Tamyra asked, using that rare cold tone, the one that could effectively end conversations, the one that made you want to shrink into a hole and die because the conviction was too strong to confront. Leah didn't snap back at the girl. Instead she took the time to really wonder why she was so against the being growing within her. She thought back to her crushed dream of having 2.5 kids with Sam as her husband, them growing old together sitting on their front porch as their 5 grandkids came over for visits making a ruckus. Then she remembered Emily and how that dream twisted and contorted and somehow ended with her being a single mother to a rape baby. A baby that would have _his_ features worst of all probably _his_ eyes and she would hate them because she would always remember those eyes that stared at her with both pity and longing.

"Tamyra," Leah whispered sadly, "I would be a horrible mother."

"No you wouldn't!" Both Leah's and Tamyra's heads shot up at this new voice. Standing at the slightly opened door holding a tray of food and water was Rosalie. Her stone cold exterior that she usually wore around those not in her family seemed at conflict with an emotion she was trying to portray now. Her eyes flickered uncertainly between the two girls before she settled on entering the room completely. She closed the door needlessly, set the tray down and seated herself on the end of Leah's bed. Leah didn't protest. "I can sincerely say that I know how it feels to be in your position but I would never forgive myself if I didn't say this to you. It doesn't matter under what circumstances it happened or how much pain it caused, that child is a miracle. I saw myself in you when you thought you were infertile. Now I see hope and I'll be darned if you don't see it too. You kill that child and you'll be giving in to whatever evil aura you think is following you around bent on screwing up your life." Rosalie scooted closer on the bed, her golden eyes digging straight into Leah's soul. "But if you give that child a chance to live, I assure you, that you'll be the greatest mother you can be." Leah looked down at the female vampire's hand that was now clasping her own. She looked back up to Rosalie's lingering gaze before responding.

"I'll think about it." Rosalie nodded, hope lighting up her eyes again. She retrieved the tray and stood before the two smirking.

"Now which one of you fur balls want food?"


	3. Chapter 2

"Guess what Mom…we're pregnant!" Seth said happily as soon as he and Leah had made it back home. Sue's smiling face turned to a frown and immediately to one of disgust as she looked back and forth between her two children standing in the doorway. Leah smacked her forehead upon realizing what her mother was probably thinking after Seth's statement.

"The eloquent one are we?" Leah mumbled to Seth who moments later realized his flub.

"Oh no not us," he said hurriedly while jumping away from his sister. He reached to the side pulling a shy looking Tamyra into view. "_We're_ pregnant," he continued pointing between himself and his imprint. "And so is Leah." Sue's expression momentarily relaxed before turning to a frown once more. She started to fidget as if she was searching for a viable response to the exclamation and to ease the anxiety of the three standing in front of her. The three shape shifters had fake smiles plastered on their faces as they watched the woman go through a series of emotions.

_I knew this wouldn't go over well. _Leah thought to Tamyra.

_I suppose you did call it. But it was your idea to let Seth do the talking._

_Yeah I figured he should have some part of the pain since he's not physically preggers._

_You're so cruel. _Tamyra chuckled mentally

_You'll thank me later. _Leah added causing both of their fake smiles to turn more genuine. Sue at this point stopped her jerky hand movements and inhaled deeply. All three subconsciously moved their heads along with her slow exhale.

"Well I suppose I shouldn't leave you hanging like this…" Sue joined the fake smile club," As much as I want to scold you two for being so irresponsible" Sue dipped her head in Seth and Tamyra's direction," I can't help but be a little giddy with the idea of being a grandmother." Sue paused and began intertwining her fingers again nervously. Suddenly the woman starting bouncing slightly on her feet. Leah was concerned for her mother's mental state when the woman dipped her head then looked back up at the three beaming. Seth wondered how his mother was bouncing up and down so quickly. _It looks like she's gonna phase herself from excitement. _He mused. Sue bounded for the three and wrapped her arms around them.

"My babies are having babies." After a moment of reveling in the group hug Sue let go and ushered them all into the house. "So all we have to do is speak with the other elders about this and-"

"Wait why do we have to go to them?" Leah asked harshly.

"Oh Leah, I wasn't thinking," Sue's face fell when she thought about her daughter's situation. "You don't have to go if you don't want to but I'm sure they'll want to meet with your brother and Tamyra."

"No it's fine. I may need to ask them something anyway." Leah said the last part offhandedly. Sue looked curious but didn't push it.

"Now we just have to find a way to rearrange the house to accommodate both babies!" Sue clapped her hands excitedly as she grabbed both girls' hands and dragged them deeper into the house.

* * *

"This is a very interesting predicament indeed." Old Quil spoke first at the council meeting after the dual pregnancies were announced. Leah found herself taking in the comfortable familiarities and the obvious differences of this meeting. She couldn't believe that it had been only a few months since she had been in this same position in front of the elders but for a very different reason. Her pack was here but in Embry's place sat Collin and Brady. Seth sat at her side comforting her as before but on her other side sat Tamyra doing the same thing. Sam's pack wasn't present but unlike last time, when it was physically impossible for him to get anywhere hear her, now it was because they were separated by tension. "You must understand we have never experienced this before for obvious reasons, perhaps you, young Tamyra, have experienced the birth of children from two shape shifting parents?"

"It was rare in our pack, we have a limited number of females but usually this occurs within the leadership sets. The alphas usually have a child that will grow up to become an alpha. Those pregnancies last 6 months which is why I was surprised when Dr. Cullen predicted a 3 month pregnancy for us."

"Could it have something to do with the crossing of the…species if you will?" Billy suggested. Tamyra shrugged before answering.

"Frankly sir, my old pack has never come across such a phenomena. When we would meet other cultures their reactions were similar to yours, intrigue at the prospect of other shape shifters existing. I can tell you that they will most likely be born with the ability to shift. Especially since Dr. Cullen has observed that Leah's child shifts along with her." This earned a few gasps from the elders.

"We should have Carlisle continue the exams during your pregnancies."Billy stated. A few nodded their head in agreement. "We've entrusted the lives of many of our own to him and he has not done us wrong yet." Billy appeared to casually glance in Jacob's direction who blatantly ignored his father's gaze.

"What if-what if I don't want it?" Leah interrupted causing an uneasy silence to settle over the group. All eyes turned cautiously in her direction. Leah distantly heard her mother take in an unsteady breath.

"Leah what are you saying-"

"Mother you know what I'm saying please don't make me say it again." Leah said low and swift. She felt Tamyra tense at her side but the other girl had chosen to stay out of the discussion this time. She could feel her brother's eyes trying to drill into the side of her skull his mouth open in shock. Old Quil realizing that none of the other elders were going to speak, decided to oblige Leah.

"Well, you'll need to decide soon because if you have the child and decide you don't want it, you can't very well put it up for adoption given the circumstances. I suppose if you choose other…options that are less risky to the secret of our tribe-"

"I'm not saying I'm going to do it, I just wanted to know hypothetically." Leah interrupted sensing how difficult it was for the old man to answer her.

"That's bull Clearwater and you know it!" Leah's eyebrows scrunched when she realized who had spoken. Jacob was standing now and he seemed furious. "You wouldn't have said anything if you weren't considering it. I know I'm not the pro-life poster child but you have no idea the potential of that life you're carrying!" Leah stared at her alpha in shock which quickly turned to anger.

"What gives you the right to tell me-"

"You did when you brought up that silly question in front of all of us. I'm not gonna let you kill that kid!" Jacob pointed definitively at his beta.

"What are you gonna do Jake put an alpha command on me?" Leah challenged now glaring at Jacob.

"No…forget it do what you want." Jacob's sudden forfeit of the argument threw Leah. Jacob quickly exited the building and it was then that Leah realized that a lot more had to be bothering him then her sudden consideration of abortion. Uneasy eyes glanced around the room. Before anyone else could voice their opinion Seth spoke up.

"As much as I would love being an uncle, I realize that this must be hard for my sister even though I personally don't know _how_ hard. But I do know her and I know she'll do what's best." Seth ended hopefully just as Leah caught one of Tamyra's fleeting thoughts.

_Best for who is the question._

* * *

Leah knew it would only be a matter of time before news spread through the reservation about the dual pregnancies. She decided a few days after the council meeting to hang at Sam's house. She welcomed the sight of the other pack over the judging looks of her own pack mates.

"Leah, it's been a while." Sam said, his voice slightly more pleasant than his normal these days. Leah acknowledged him with a nod then thought better of bringing down his "good" mood.

"How's Leo been?"

"Quiet." Sam stated flatly. Leah decided to go check on the baby just to be sure Sam's admittance didn't have a double meaning. She found Leonard sleeping peacefully in his crib. His tiny mouth was open and Leah knew he would grow up and be a big time snorer.

"You should keep it." Leah was slightly startled when Sam's voice sounded behind her. _Stupid hormones must be screwing up my wolf senses._

"Keep what?" Leah asked feigning ignorance.

"Your baby." He stated just as blandly as he would say an item on a grocery list.

"Who told you?" Leah asked slightly annoyed.

"No one," Leah was caught off guard," Your smell was different. You smell a little like Emily did early in her pregnancy," Sam walked closer to Leah who moved to the other side of the crib." And I know you well enough to figure that you were wondering about your options. Personally I think you'd be a good mother." Leah rolled her eyes.

"Why does everyone all of a sudden have mommy rating radar?" Leah dropped into the rocking chair in the room. The noise made Leonard stir but he didn't wake up. Sam moved to one side of the crib without taking his eyes off Leah.

"I don't but I know how you used to be with kids and how you are now. Nothing has changed. I know you want your own. Leah I just want to ask you one question." Sam's voice got softer at this request and Leah looked at him genuinely curious. She nodded her head to allow him to continue.

"Would you be thinking about giving the child up if I was the father?" Leah let the words saturate in her mind for a few moments before she calmly stood and left the house. She wasn't angry just uncertain. Had anyone else asked her that question she would have popped them by now but knowing how Sam had changed and how he only said what he really meant these days she couldn't help but wonder about his words. Leah then remembered her dream and the request Emily had made of her.

_If this is Emily's idea of a joke…I'm so gonna rip her figment head off._

* * *

A/N:First two chaps up, still workin yeah...I ran into like this pseudo writer's block...like I know where the story is going but I'm not quite sure how to get it there/put things in the order I like...yeah don't worry I'll work it out


	4. Chapter 3

_Wow man. Who thought the world would ever be ready for little Seths running around? _Quil joked while he and Seth ran patrol together. _Hopefully it'll be more like Myra. _Seth growled at his friend before realizing that he wished the same thing.

_I don't think it's really hit me yet._ Seth admitted.

_Yeah and just think, most people have 9 months to get used to the idea. You have 3… sucks bro._

_I don't think it'll be so bad. I mean how bad can it be if I'm building up a family with my imprint? _Seth's optimism made Quil gag mentally. _Hey don't blame me just 'cause your imprint can still pass for your daughter. _Seth joked. Quil caught up to him and tackled him to the ground. The two rough housed for a few minutes before Jacob phased and interrupted.

_Hey you two lovebirds no fun while on patrol. _Both growled at their alpha. _Yeah yeah shut up and listen. We're having a meeting tonight at the Cullens. Tell the girls if you see 'em. _

_What about Collin and Brady?_ Seth asked.

_Tell those girls too. _Quil snickered while Seth rolled his eyes as Jacob phased back to human.

* * *

The meeting at the Cullens surprisingly didn't include all of the Cullens. Edward, Jasper, and Alice were present along with the 'vamp' pack. Renesmee was present by default as she was attached to Jacob's hip, adamantly refusing to go to bed with so many visitors around. The shape shifters were stationed in different spots around the living room most were seated while the vampires preferred to stand.

"I called this meeting because I think it best if we take into account some of the issues of our members and change our training accordingly." Jacob's eyes settled in the direction of the two female shape shifters. One returned his gaze while the other did not. Jacob continued. "I'm proud of the work everyone's been doing but with our two fastest unable to phase-"

"We can phase," Leah's head popped up as she interrupted "The doc said it wasn't dangerous."

"Even so, we saw what happened to you two last week, to be phasing and pregnant is too much for you stamina wise." Jacob amended.

"Especially since you two are working off the same energy supply." Edward added peaking both girls' interest. "If either of you exhausts yourself, you take the other down with you, so it's only natural to consider it as if you are working from linked energy." Leah felt a wave of unnatural calm come over her before she could become too agitated with the idea of being so much more connected to the other girl. Tamyra glanced at Leah having picked up some of her struggling thoughts.

"The vampires have agreed to help the rest of us with increasing our speed and agility since that right now is our weak area as a whole. That way by the end of the pregnancies, we'll all be working on improving our combat techniques together for the last two months before the battle." There were a few nods of agreement. Seth spoke up after a few seconds.

"Maybe there won't even be a battle. Alice have you been able to see anything, I know you can't see us wolves but-"

"I've tried and I can't be sure but I definitely still see us waiting for you all to return, so there will be a gathering, whether or not there will be a battle I can't say." Alice answered him.

"So what are _we_ supposed to do?" Leah asked uncomfortable about being pushed aside for being pregnant.

"You're going to rest and keep your…body healthy for three months." Leah could tell that Jacob was still unsure about how to speak to Leah about the baby. Jacob ended the meeting just as Esme came into the room smiling.

"Now that all that serious talk is over…who wants muffins?"

* * *

Although Leah and Tamyra had only been pregnant for 3 weeks it translated physically into 9 weeks. They both had taken to wearing Seth's clothes to hide their slightly bulging stomachs from the general public. Training days at the Cullens proved to be more comical than boring considering the races that occurred between the boys. Leah had almost laughed herself to tears watching a race between Seth and Emmett. Emmett was one of the slower vampires and he looked to be barely trying when Seth came panting out of the trees a full 6 seconds behind. Emmett was grinning evily as he approached the boy.

"Buck up Seth." Emmett said and smacked the wolf on the back effectively sending him sprawled on the ground. That caused another wave of laughter from the onlookers. The day continued on with the wolves getting demolished in foot race after foot race by the vampires.

"So have you thought of any names?" Tamyra asked Leah when they were in the Cullen kitchen helping Esme cook dinner for the wolves. Leah stopped mixing the batter in her bowl and answered.

"No, haven't given it much thought. Guess it really hasn't hit me yet." She went back to stirring just as Esme took the pan from Tamyra's arms and popped it into the oven.

"You might help _that_ along if you actually give it a name." Tamyra suggested.

"Have _you_ thought of a name?" Leah inquired genuinely curious.

"If it's a boy we decided to name him after Seth, if it's a girl we decided on Sahara." Tamyra stated lovingly. Leah scoffed just as Carlisle entered the room.

"If I were human I bet this food would smell absolutely delicious." Carlisle beamed while giving his wife a quick kiss. He then turned to the two girls. "I can do your checkups now or after you eat." Tamyra offered to go first before eating and Leah agreed to go after eating. Carlisle led Tamyra away just as the boys could be heard stumbling into the house.

* * *

"Man I am starved! Whatever is in that kitchen is calling me." Quil said bounding into the kitchen first. Seth came in third after Collin and followed by Brady. Seth took a big whiff of the food and his stomach grumbled as a response. Just as he headed to make a plate he realized that Tamyra wasn't around.

"She's with Carlisle, he's about to give her an ultrasound." Edward informed him. Although he was really hungry Seth decided to check in on his family.

"Knock knock." Seth said as he walked into the makeshift examination room. Tamyra was seated on the bed, her stomach exposed and gelled as Carlisle prepared the ultrasound.

"Carlisle says he can probably determine the gender." Seth's eyes lit up at Tamyra's statement. "Do you want to find out?" Tamyra asked him. Seth thought for a moment before answering.

"I think it would be more fun if we kept it a surprise." Tamyra's smile grew when Seth said this and he realized that was what she was hoping he would say. Seth stood next to the bed while Carlisle showed different angles of the baby that looked a little more defined than just a bundle of cells like it did last time.

"The baby already has elbows, you may be able to make those out here. And the eyes are open now although they'll fuse closed within the next few days. I can point those out to y-" Just as Carlisle changed the screen to show the couple the child's eyes Brady bounded into the room.

"Hey guys oh sorry! Alice told me to come bring you some food since you were really hung-what is that-whoa…" Brady's voice trailed off when he looked at the screen. Seth was confused by his friend's expression at first but he turned to look at what his eyes were locked on. Carlisle was pointing directly where his child's eyes could clearly be seen open on the screen and that was where Brady was staring. _It's like he's gazing in total adora-_

"You imprinted on my unborn child?!"

* * *

A/N: :p


	5. Chapter 4

All movement in the kitchen had stopped. Seth had just yelled using a volume so loud it nearly shook the house. Everyone's expression was one of disbelief. Leah found herself wanting to laugh but when two blurs flew by and out the door she knew a fight was about to start.

"Dude I didn't mean it I just-it just-kinda happened!" Brady pleaded while Seth circled him in a deadly crouch.

"It just _kinda_ happened? Are you flippin' _serious_ right now? Who said _you_ could enter the room anyway?" Seth snarled his questioning.

"Dude I won't hurt her! You know that!" Brady's pleading turned to a whine while Seth hissed at him. After a few more minutes Seth finally calmed down some. Leah had watched the whole thing through the window along with everyone else from inside. Seth turned towards the house, shoulders slumped.

"Leah all I gotta say is lock your door when you have yours done."Seth called to her defeat in his voice.

"Dully noted." Leah stated as she climbed the stairs to the examination room.

"So I hear you're having Sahara. Congratulations!" Leah told Tamyra when she entered the room. Tamyra rolled her eyes when Leah started laughing. Leah noticed that she was taking the event much better than Seth. Tamyra got off the bed having finished her examination. Leah took her place as Carlisle began sterilizing and replenishing his materials. When he was ready to begin he closed and locked the door.

"So Leah do you want to know the gender?"

"No thanks doc." That was the end of the conversation. The examination went slightly different from the previous one. Carlisle mainly reviewed the changes that would be going on in Leah's body, her symptoms, any discomfort she would feel. He was obviously keeping details on the fetus' development to a minimum. Although all the other examinations had gone this way, this particular day seemed to kill Leah's mood. _Why do I feel like such a self fish fool?_ She gripped the bed sheets in some point the guilt in her stomach was too much for Leah to bear. She suddenly wanted to share the excitement that Tamyra, Seth, and now Brady were feeling for their new arrival. She wanted to gush over the sex of the baby and wonder what to name it. She wanted all the maternal emotions that she saw portrayed everyday through her mother and Esme. She checked and double checked to make sure these emotions were real and belonged solely to her. They did. She realized she hadn't really been listening to Carlisle when he started telling her what 'weeks' 10 through 15 would be like. She shook her head before interrupting.

"Dr. Cullen what about the… baby?"Leah whispered uneasily. Carlisle's expression softened in understanding.

* * *

The joy that spread through the house after Leah announced her intention to carry the child to term was nearly suffocating. Seth could tell that although nearly everyone had in one way or another voiced their opinion on the matter she hadn't realized how many were vying for the child's life. Seth found himself distracted from the whole Brady imprint fiasco because of the sudden wave of happiness. Seth re-entered the house with Brady by his side. Leah commented upon seeing the two as she descended the stairs.

"So Brady how's it feel to be even more of a pedo than Quil?" Quil feigned offense while everyone laughed at the expense of both guys. Seth chuckled before hitting Brady on the back and jogging to Tamyra's side in the kitchen.

"That's great news right. About Leah's decision?" Seth inquired of his beloved.

"Yeah it's great." She sound distracted. Seth's forehead creased as he tried to figure out what was bothering her.

"Myra what is it?" Seth whispered low enough so that none of the others could hear.

"Who says anything is wrong?" she said shrugging while keeping her focus straight ahead.

"You're not eating that cookie, you just keeping picking pieces off of it and crumbling it in your fingers." Tamyra looked down at her plate and noticed all the cookie crumbs decorating it. She inhaled before leaning into Seth's ear.

"We're not the only ones that know."

* * *

Another two weeks came and went without much occurrence. Jacob's pack was steadily getting faster and increasing its stamina. Sneaking up on Sam's pack members became a stealth exercise, assigned mainly to Collin and Brady. The latter having made it his personal job to keep Tamyra well fed and healthy. He was becoming just as in tune with Tamyra's needs as Seth was. Needless to say it was freaking the imprint couple out. After having their week 5 or 'week 15' exams, Leah and Tamyra had decided to skip out of the training and head back to LaPush. What they didn't expect was for the seemingly empty house to have been infiltrated. Both girls hurried up the stairs which was somewhat hindered by their enlarged stomachs to Leah's room where four beings decided to make themselves comfortable.

"Hey chickas!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly when both shape shifters emerged through the doorway.

"What are you guys doing here? Mom?" Leah questioned her mother in genuine surprise. Kim answered her.

"With all this pack drama we've really missed you guys." She admitted.

"So we thought we'd sneak away while the guys were training and have a girl's day out." Rachel added. _So the other pack is training too._

"Actually we're going baby shopping." Sue gushed earning an eye roll from Leah.

"Forget it I'm going back to the Cullens."

"Oh no you're not!" Tamyra said effectively placing herself between Leah and the door. The other females were grinning at having realized that Tamyra was just as strong physically as Leah and could stop her escape. After having a semi epic stare down Leah consented.

"Fine but we can't stay gone long!"

"I'll drive!" Tenia had finally made herself known and it impressed Leah.

"Wow I wouldn't think Embry's girl would go along with this too."

"Hey! He may be in charge of a bunch of teen boys but he can't touch the teen girl." The group giggled at the girl's feisty behavior. They all loaded into a minivan that Tenia was borrowing. The shopping trip at Port Angeles would prove to be a day of fun for most.

"So Tamyra we should do lots of pink, purple, and red for your girl and Leah we should go gender neutral for your baby since we don't know the sex." Rachel exclaimed while shifting through baby clothes rack at the third store they had been to.

"Yes probably yellows, and pastel colors."Sue elaborated while rubbing her fingers together as if she could feel the pastel.

"Like powder blue and maybe a light green." Kim added. Sue nodded in agreement.

"Orange can be neutral." Tenia suggested. Rachel turned the idea down quickly. Tenia threw Rachel a look that led Leah to believe she was taking the criticism a little too personal.

"We could get a few colors that are more gender specific, in anticipation. I mean it's not like the baby's gonna be born without a gender…so we have a 50/50 chance." Kim suggested after picking up on the other two girl's tension. Leah noticed as well and whispered into her mother's ear.

"What's with Rach and Ten?"

"The feuding wives." Sue stated plainly when she picked up a 5 piece baby bottle set. Leah looked at a loss. "Ever since Sam made Embry his beta , Paul has been whining to Rachel about how unfair Sam has become. Well Rachel let it slip one day in front of Tenia how Paul has more seniority and should be beta. Tenia didn't see it that way especially since Jared would be Sam's pick after Embry."

"Embry's a blood alpha, how can Paul fight that?"

"Well that fact cooled Paul down a little but Rachel was another story. We all saw how Ten has been getting more vocal in her opinions and that just got under Rachel's skin. She starts ranting about how Tenia thinks she's some alpha over the imprints now. It's sad really because Kim has to mediate them all the time since they both have some type of Emily complex."

"Emily complex?"

"They both want to take her place. They think someone needs to watch over the boys and cook and open their home up to the pack. It's ridiculous. Kim's tried to tell them that Emily would do that stuff out of the goodness of her heart but they're convinced it's a job that has to be filled."

"So I assume Jared is mediating Paul and Embry?"

"His job's easier. He just referees their rough housing." Sue sighed, "Boys…"

"And girls." Leah added. She looked over her shoulder and noticed Tamyra at another rack looking through onesies. She had just pulled one out that had a puppy and a kitten lying side by side peacefully. _What a sap. _"Myra put that trash down." Leah jokingly ordered her. She hadn't expected Tamyra to actually drop the item to the floor. "I didn't mean literally." Tamyra stared at the cloth on the floor then shook her head before bending to pick it up. A flash of worry went through Tamyra's mind. "Myra what's wrong?" This caught everyone's attention.

"Leah…I think you just _commanded_ me." Leah quirked an eyebrow.

"Whaddya mean…like '_alpha command' _command?"

"It would only make sense-I mean you're the-you're my-" Tamyra stuttered nervously.

"Alpha female" Leah finished for her in disbelief.

* * *

A/N:Woo I feel like I havent updated in like days


	6. Chapter 5

"Dude, I'm sick of playing this Dynasty Warriors game, can we play Tekken 4 now?" Collin whined.

"Yeah whatever man, pop it in. But I'm Eddy Gordo!"Brady replied.

"What? I want Eddy!" Collin complained.

"You were level 10 LuBu all through Dynasty! You can settle for Heihachi in Tekken." Brady countered.

"Fine." Collin agreed. They along with Seth and Jacob had settled for hanging at the Clearwaters playing video games after training while they waited for the girls to return. Seth had been a little worried until Tamyra had called him on Leah's cell and informed him of where they went. Seth jumped up when an unidentified minivan pulled in front of the house. He ran out to meet his mom, Leah, and Tamyra.

"There's all the beautiful women in my life!"

"Oh great! What have you done to my house Seth?" Sue asked her son accusingly.

"Nothing mom." Seth whined back.

"Yet."Leah amended. The van pulled away once Jacob joined Seth on the porch.

"How was the shopping trip?" Seth asked the women as they climbed the porch steps.

"Wonderful." Sue said happily. Leah scoffed.

"The shopping part sucked but we made an interesting discovery." Seth caught the worried glance that Tamyra threw at Leah. Instead of elaborating Leah turned her attention to Jacob. "Jake, I need to check something. Could you take a walk with me?"

"Sure if you're sure you're up to it." Jacob replied.

"It'll be fine." Leah assured him as the two walked off towards the trees. Seth was curious but felt he would be imposing on something that was alpha-beta related if he questioned the two. _Doesn't stop me from asking the misses._

"Myra, what's going on?" Tamyra shot him an apprehensive glance before answering.

"Leah will tell you when she's ready."

"Why can't you tell me?"Seth asked a little perplexed. Tamyra looked apologetic.

"She told me not to."

* * *

"Leah what's this all about?" Jacob asked a little gruff after they had walked a few miles into the forest in silence.

"When I said that I was considering abortion, why were you so…I don't know, angry about it? I mean I expected that from my mom or Seth. Not from you."

"Do you want the truth?"Jacob asked her seriously.

"Yes ding dong why else would I ask you?"Leah replied already agitated.

"Renesmee." He said simply. When the dots didn't connect immediately Jacob continued. "When you said you wanted to kill your kid I couldn't help but think about when Bella was pregnant and how Edward and I-how we wanted to kill her. I know it's a little different but I was moments from killing that baby when I imprinted on her. I just don't know if I could live with-I mean I don't know if you-what I'm trying to say is how could you live with asking all the 'what ifs'? What if you _had_ let the child live?" Leah rescued him from having to pour out anymore feelings.

"I get it Jake." They continued walking for a few more minutes in silence before Jacob broke it.

"What made you change your mind?"

"Sam." Leah replied. The swiftness of the answer surprised Jacob. He looked at Leah curiously. "He asked me a question that I didn't have an answer to. It made me think. I realized that I can't really hold it against the kid because of who its father is." Jacob nodded his head in agreement. "Jacob this isn't all that I asked you out here for." Leah stopped walking. Jacob followed suit after a few more steps.

"What else is on your mind?"He asked her.

"I think it best if I phased and showed you." Jacob grimaced.

"Uh oh the last time this happened, I nearly died from your flashback."He joked remembering back to when she had first dimprinted.

"Real cute. Seriously you need to see this." Jacob phased first. Leah undressed and took a deep breath while she let the transformation take place.

_Jake?_

_Right here Beta._

_Oh thank goodness. _Leah's thoughts rushed out. She replayed the scene at the store and how she was able to order Tamyra as an alpha does to its pack mates. Her real concern was that she would not be able to hear the wolves anymore.

_Wow Leah, it's like you're kinda part of two packs now. _

_I kinda sort of am, doofus. _Leah mocked him. He feigned offense.

_Leah that's got to get confusing. What about… you know? _Before Jacob could stop himself he pictured Tre's face.

_I don't know, I can feel his presence but I haven't heard him since that day. I'm pretty sure Tamyra does, though she blocks him when I'm in her head. _Jacob's head bobbed up and down.

_So it must be fun to boss your dimprint around? I know as beta you don't get all the alpha perks but now here you are an alpha yourself._

_Whatever Jake. _Jacob's thoughts suddenly shifted to when Seth and Leah had broken from Sam's pack to join him then to how it felt when he couldn't hear his pack mates' thoughts right after he broke away.

_Why do you think you can still hear both packs? _Jake inquired curiously.

_I'm not sure. _Leah's thoughts quickly flashed to _that_ night but she stopped them before they could get any more graphic for Jake's sake. _Maybe because I was forced into the other pack. My wolf must not be ready to give up on you yet. _Jacob flashed a wolf smile.

_Aww Lee I didn't know you cared. _Leah retorted by imagining Jacob dressed in drag. He barked annoyance. _Way to kill the moment Clearwater._

_Didn't anyone tell you? _Jacob shook his head. Leah faked a sneeze. _I'm allergic to sentimental moments._

_Sure sure. _Jacob replied casually. Leah groaned after a few seconds. Jacob realized that she was having pain in her abdomen. _Lee is it the baby?_

_This kid's got one strong kick. _She groaned again. _Crap now I have to go pee!_

_Okay do you need me to direct you to the nearest port-a-potty or fire hydrant?

* * *

_

_A/N:Uh I was gonna update 3 chapters but then I realized I uploaded 2 chapters...that were exactly the same :p Oh yes the timeline at this point Myra and Leah have been pregnant about a month it's still 4 months til the battle with the panthers  
_


	7. Chapter 6

Seth was sorting through some of the purchases made by the girls when he tuned into the conversation going on between Collin and Brady.

"Brady stop hitting the kick button so much, you're playing like a girl."Collin complained.

"I take that as a compliment since the last girl to play you was Leah and she got a perfect on you!" Brady shot back.

"Leah Clearwater doesn't count cause she's not a girl." Collin argued.

"Fine then, the time before that we were playing Mortal Kombat with Tamyra-"

"She lost!"

"Only cause you didn't pause the game when she got nauseous and had to run to the bathroom-"

"Did I hear my name?" Tamyra had entered the living room where the two boys were playing Tekken, a shopping bag in tow. Brady immediately dropped his controller and ran to her.

"Myra why are you standing? How was shopping? Never mind I don't wanna know about how you strained yourself. Why are you carrying all these bags? Let me take them. Are you hungry? Is Sahara hungry? Here I'll go make you some biscuits. Oh wait are you still craving pickles?"

"Dude." Collin and Seth said in unison, "Chill." Brady looked between his two friends as if he were about to protest. Collin continued speaking. "You can't even cook. How were you gonna make biscuits?" Before Brady could answer Leah came running into the house.

"If anyone is in the bathroom I'm gonna skin them alive!" A few chuckled just as Jacob followed her into the house and Sue joined the gathered youth in the living room.

"I'll be cooking tonight. You're all welcome to stay and Chief Swan will be joining us."

* * *

Seth wasn't surprised when everyone had agreed to stay. He had to assure Tamyra that it was okay to be introduced to Charlie Swan in her normal attire since he was "kinda sorta" in on the secret. When the food was done and the table set, everyone was seated in the dining room. Seth could see that Leah wanted to cringe every time their mother decided to play footsie under the table with Charlie who was seated directly across from her. Seth sat next to his mother and Tamyra who was sandwiched on her other side by Brady. Leah chose to sit across from Tamyra leaving a spot for Jacob next to Charlie and the remaining spot for Collin across from Brady. Seth felt differently for his two slightly younger friends. He felt bad for Collin because the guy was no doubt counting down the days before he would completely lose his last remaining formerly non imprinted best bud. He felt nothing but jealousy for Brady at the fact that the boy seemed to be vying for his imprint's attention as much as he was. Who as he thought this, was piling an unhealthy amount of mashed potatoes onto Tamyra's already full plate. Leah tried to hide a laugh at how Tamyra's passive attempts at declining the offer were going unnoticed. Seth was about to intervene when Sue spoke up.

"So Charlie, anything new happen at the station?" She asked in her old people flirting tone while casually twirling a green bean across her plate.

"Nothing much, we did have to bring in a kid today though." Charlie paused to fork some more food into his mouth.

"Was it one of those kids from the high school?" Sue asked genuinely curious.

"I don't know, never seen him before. He looked a little older than high school. Some camper's said they found him out cold in the woods. I put him up in a cell. Kid sure looked beat up pretty bad," Charlie paused again as if he was remembering some horrific detail then shook his head," told him he could spend the night. I'll go in tomorrow to let him out, don't think he has a place to go though." Charlie went back to eating his food.

"Did you take him to the hospital?" Sue asked worried for the young man's health. Everyone was listening by this time.

"No, he refused. Actually that was what snapped him out of his little stupor. On the way to the hospital he had woke but was pretty groggy. Then I said something about the hospital and he popped right up and adamantly refused. Made a detour, got him some food and left him at the station. I still think someone should check him out though." Charlie scooped up some mashed potatoes and gravy.

"Did you get a name?" Sue asked. Charlie swallowed his spoonful then glanced around the table at the curious eyes looking at him.

"Yeah…yeah I think he said his name was Adam Foster." A fork clanked against a plate loudly. Seth jumped realizing Tamyra had just dropped hers. She quickly removed the look of shock on her face before anyone else could pick it up and plastered on that fake smile.

"Excuse me." She said and quickly removed herself from the table and room. Seth got up to follow her and stopped Brady before he could do the same.

"Well that wasn't obvious at all…" He heard Leah mutter just as he rounded the corner and headed up the stairs to his sister's room where his imprint had no doubt went. He found her pacing just inside the doorway, nervously biting her finger nails.

"Myra, what's wrong? Is it the baby?" Seth asked worriedly. Tamyra shook her head. Seth could hear her mutter something about the boy that Charlie was just talking about. "Tamyra, who's Adam Foster?" She stopped chewing her fingernails, which promptly grew back to their normal length effectively freaking Seth out, but didn't stop her pacing.

"My brother's full name is Terrance Adam Foster." She said quickly. Seth blurted out the first coherent question that came to his mind.

"How have I gone this long without asking you your last name?"

* * *


	8. Chapter 7

There were numerous choked or stifled gasps coming from the Clearwater dining room, Leah's being one of them. The wolves had all just heard Tamyra's confession and Seth's dumb response although Sue and Charlie had not, the former looking suspicious nonetheless. Leah wanted so badly to go unleash a rage of questions on the girl, but too many people disappearing from the table would surely raise suspicion with Charlie. She opted for yelling mentally at the girl.

_Why didn't you say he was still around?_

_I didn't know. That caught me off guard just as much as it did everyone else!_

_Don't feed me that-_

_Do you want to know why you haven't heard him in my thoughts? _Leah's silent response indicated for Tamyra to continue. _Because frankly I thought he was brain dead or something. I haven't heard his thoughts or felt anything from him in weeks!_

_How does he even know how to cut his mind off like that?_

_I don't know but I think a lot more has been going on with him then we think. _

_You should tell us when-_

"Leah dear, would you like some more of anything?" Sue asked Leah in a fake cheerfulness. Leah declined.

_-tell us when you have hunches like this! _

_I've been meaning to find him myself just to set some things straight._

_Why haven't you? _Leah asked skeptically.

_Truthfully Leah between your hate and all this flippin suffocating imprint mess I can't bend my bindings enough to get off the reservation! _

"Leah are you sure you don't want anymore green beans?" Leah let out a gruff "No." before returning to her mental argument.

_You shouldn't be trying to handle him on your own anyway, we all know what happened the last time you thought you had things under control. _Leah thought she heard a hiss come from upstairs.

_I have apologized to you over and over for what happened that night! It was not my fault! _

_Yeah well it surely wasn't my fault that I got raped so who should we blame? _Tamyra paused before answering, her anger dissipating slightly from her thoughts.

_Tre couldn't control what he was-_

_That's crap and you know it!_ _We were under his control! What? You want me to blame it on his alter ego?_

"Leah!" Sue called a little harder as Jacob nudged her arm.

"What?" she seethed.

"Lee you look like you're about to take a huge dump." Brady deadpanned. Leah realized that her expression included clenched jaw, grinding teeth, and she was clenching her fists during her mental battle. Charlie was looking at her like she was a crazy pregnant woman. _Oh wait…._

_I do not have to stand here and listen to your pathetic grudge holding whines. Life sucks! Get over it! _Leah heard Tamyra stomping down the stairs with Seth on her heels. His face was one of confusion and concern. She headed for the back door without so much as giving to the less fortunate non telepathic people in the house an explanation for her exit, and that just pissed Leah off more. Leah slammed her fists on the table and jumped up.

"You are not going anywhere you manipulative child molesting jerk!" Leah roared and the girl stopped dead in her tracks. Seth growled at his sister but she ignored him.

"Leah Clearwater you watch your mouth!" Sue exclaimed in part horror and part confusion. Tamyra's fist continually clenched and unclenched. Apparently the girl was not fond of Leah's usage of an alpha command on her just then and was fighting the strong urge to phase. Leah realized this.

_You will not phase in this house. _Leah thought, hoping her alpha command worked in mental form. It did. Leah noticed Tamyra's trembling subside almost instantly, although the girl was still greatly peeved about being unable to move from her spot.

"You're no better than him." Tamyra mumbled not quite low enough for Leah to miss. That was Jacob's cue to intervene. He stood and grabbed Leah's shoulder.

"Perhaps we should take this outside." Jacob said as more of an order than a suggestion. He gently led his beta to the door who finally relinquished the orders on Tamyra. Tamyra and Seth followed them outside and Brady, out of concern for his unborn imprint being so close to conflict, followed them out as well. Collin not wanting to be left out turned to the remaining adults and said,

"Nice meeting you Chief Swan and thanks Mrs. Clearwater for the food it was wonderful!" in his boyish charm, then rose and quickly joined the others outside.

"Sue…you breed some strange kids." Charlie joked then downed some of his Dr. Pepper.

* * *

After the group had made it a good distance into the forest behind the Clearwater property Jacob laid down the law.

"What the freak was that little cat fight back there?"

"Nothing that can't be handled by a quick scrap." Leah said starting for Tamyra who immediately ripped herself from Seth. The two were quickly restrained again as Jacob intervened.

"Whoa whoa, there is no way-as much as I would love to see it- let you two fight in form especially since you're pregnant! You'll have to settle this like normal people do."

"There's nothing to settle." Leah argued.

"There isn't?!" Tamyra asked completely disbelieving. "I swear Leah, there is nothing in that mind of yours that _is_ settle!"

"Get outta my head then!"

"You think I want to be? Do you think I have a choice?"

"Do _I_? I never asked for you to be in my life!"

"I never asked to be here! But you know that whole bit about lemons and lemonade, yeah I had to take a liking to that motto!" Tamyra through her arms down exasperated. "Forget it Clearwater, I'm done protecting you."

"Protecting me? What the flip have you been protecting me from because from my memory you have a pretty crappy record going." Tamyra let out a heartless chuckle.

"Did you ever wonder why that one cable of your dimprint was so strong?" Leah found her question a little odd but decided to remain quiet and wait for the other girl to continue. "That was all me. It was like being the objective third party in your life. I saw your memories, your fears… everything. I saw the pack mind. I learned everything about you. I could see your faults, I could see those blatantly obvious mistakes you were making. I could stop them. All I had to do was feel enough opposition towards someone and bam-"Tamyra clapped her hands together for effect, "-you were forced to listen. I knew-heck everyone knew that the one thing keeping you down was Sam Uley. I tried to protect you from that but no, as soon as I back off you run right back to him. Now you blame me for not being able to handle my brother, to protect you from him!"

"I never asked you to protect me-"

"Yeah but you needed it!"

"A lot of good it did!" The two glared at each other for a few moments. Tamyra shook her head frustrated.

"I'm done." She turned her back to Leah.

"So am I!" Leah turned to do the same but before she could take even two steps she felt a tightness in her heart followed by dizziness. Her arms shot out to brace for her fall but she was unconscious before she felt herself hit the ground.

* * *

A/N:is it just me or do these chicks pass out alot?


	9. Chapter 8

_Forest. Sun. Moon._

"_Dang it Emily! Why am I back here?" Leah screamed to the oddly still trees. "Emily?" Leah called after receiving no response. "Em I know you're there!" Silence was her answer so Leah plopped down to the ground angrily, still heated from the argument she was just having in real life. "Why do I even bother?"_

"_Hey kiddo." A deep voice said startling Leah back to her feet. The ease of the task caused Leah to look down and realize that she was not pregnant. She looked back up to face the intruder._

"_Okay dad, cough it up! What'd you do with my kid?" Harry smiled as Leah ran to at first give him a hug but then changed her mind and settled for patting his stomach jokingly."Gosh dad, lay off the angel brownies." Harry shrugged._

"_Can't help myself, Gabriel fixes up a mean banana pudding." He rubbed his belly for effect. Leah giggled, then made a face of confusion at her own action._

"_Don't worry princess, no one else is here to document your girly tendencies." Harry assured his daughter. Leah smiled but it fell as soon as she realized something._

"_Hey wait, Emily's not here! You are! I'm gonna die in childbirth ain't I? Gosh darn it, I knew my life was the epitome of suckage!" Harry held up his hands to calm his ranting daughter._

"_No. I actually learned from last time, that I don't actually have to talk to you in riddles." Leah looked confused so Harry elaborated. "When I was stalking Emily, I thought I couldn't out right tell her what was going on so when she woke up and I realized that she came to the wrong conclusion, I wanted to hit myself upside the head. I could have just told her that she was gonna die when she had her baby hence she would never see you again." Harry nodded to himself as if he had just delivered the best news possible. Leah just stared at him._

"_Ok so what non mysterious message do you have for me?"_

"_Oh right. I'm here to tell you what happened. I actually met Taha Aki…the Taha Aki. Yeah and he has like this book of answers," a book materializes in Harry's hands as he speaks" oh look here it is. Anywho this should tell you about your current situation." Harry continued smiling while Leah's expression turned to one of slight annoyance._

"_Ok…so can I see it?"_

"_My silly little baby girl, this is a dream, you can't really read here."_

"_Ok can you read it to me then?" Harry agreed then opened the book to some random page._

"_Here it is. It looks like you're not a mistake as you've come to believe. The forefathers actually anticipated the gene finally affecting a woman in the tribe so they left some "foot notes" for you. Your female imprint thingy was created in place of the normal male imprint." Leah nodded her head in agreement. "But it causes you an excruciating amount of pain if you try to break it prematurely." This interested Leah._

"_What do you mean by 'break it'?"_

"_Apparently your female imprint thingy-"_

"_Dimprint."_

"_Ha! Who came up with that name?"_

"_Your youngest man child."_

"_I knew that boy was a genius! Anyway your dimprint is temporary but one of you two girls tried to break it before it was ready to be broken." Harry wagged his finger at Leah disapproving._

"_Well that sucks." Harry agreed with Leah. "So is that why I'm unconscious?"_

"_Yeah, I guess." He said shrugging._

"_You guess? C'mon dad, you can't be unsure, you're the mystical dead one. Wait speaking of, how do I know that you aren't just some apparition that's a product of weird wiring in my brain?"_

"_Think of it like this…you get more credible dream spirits because you're bound to a girl who is possessed by some spirit from beyond. Gives the rest of us souls some freebie medium time." HArry finished by giving her two thumbs up._

"_Wow dad, I don't think I have a clue what you just said."_

"_Ha! Me neither! So…how's your mother?" Harry started swinging back and forth on the balls of his feet._

"_As good as any widow could be I guess." Leah muttered. Harry flashed her a mischievous smile._

"_She's dating Charlie isn't she?"_

"_What? I don't think-"_

"_I knew it! Billy so owes me 75 bucks." Leah was beyond confused at this point so she scratched her head while her father did a victory dance._

"_Why does he owe you-"_

"_We made a bet that between us two, whoever died first won. The prize: $50. Then we made a $25 bet that if I wasn't around who, between Charlie and Billy, would Sue date. That old goat picked himself. I knew it would be Charlie," his face turned serious. "If he hasn't given you or Seth that money, you knock that old man out his wheelchair if you have to and make the money fall out his pockets!" Harry started laughing loudly at his own semi joke._

"_Don't worry dad. I'll get your money." Leah assured her father. She felt a tightness in her face and realized she had been smiling the whole time. "I bet whoever is watching me sleep probably thinks I'm a doofus with the faces I'm making." This made Harry laugh even louder._

"_C'mere baby girl." He engulfed her in a hug. Leah eagerly returned, not wanting it to end. For a moment she felt like a little girl again and she felt completely safe and relaxed. "Now on the serious stuff, you really need to stay strong. You're Leah Clearwater and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."_

"_I know dad…I know."_

A/N: Gotta love those dream sequences

* * *


	10. Chapter 9

Seth sat at his imprint's bedside. He held onto her right arm which rested in his lap. He wished that she wore the look of serenity on her face, but it was blank. The only indication that she was alive was her steady breathing and rhythmic heartbeat. He looked around at the varying machines and wondered if by changing any of the settings they would change the state of his comatose soul mate. He just wanted something, anything to change. He sighed. Seth noticed the IV bag was nearly empty but when he got up to leave and inform someone, he heard shuffling. Hoping it was Tamyra waking, he sat back down quickly, only to find her in the exact same state as before. He frowned before realizing that in the bed over, Leah was finally waking up. She blinked her eyes a few times, before turning her head and noticing him in the room.

"The leeches lair again I see." Her voice was cracked and dry. Seth smiled weakly despite himself. "I'm surprised she isn't up yet." Leah nodded her head indicating towards Tamyra. Seth frowned again.

"Neither of you were showing signs of waking up soon. We were worried-"

"How long have I been out?" Leah asked cutting him off.

"A week." Seth answered. He could tell his sister was surprised by the response. She chuckled.

"Man dad sure is long winded." Seth scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"Dad? What are you-"

"Nothing," she waved him off before stretching."Just a little out of it still." Leah sat up in her bed. "Have you tried slapping her?" Leah asked suddenly after a few moments of silence.

"What?" Seth asked alarmed.

"To wake her up." Leah explained. Seth tried to gauge whether his sister was serious or not. Leah laughed lightly. "It was just an idea sheesh. Forgot you can't hurt the little imprint." She sighed.

"Leah, I apologize for being such a horrible brother to you these past few weeks. I've probably let you down more times in the past two or three months then I have my whole life." Leah shook her head.

"Don't count on it kid. You were one disappointing toddler if I do say so myself." Seth laughed although it was a little fake.

"Seriously Lee I should have been there for you," Seth looked down," I should always be there for you." He added softly.

"Seth."Leah stopped his pity party," I don't blame you. You have a family to think about now. You couldn't fight the imprint. Besides it's not like I expect people to fight for me with something that strong tying you down." Seth was hurt by her words but didn't object to them. They just looked at each other for a few moments before Leah turned away. "This can't be good for the babies."

"What?" He asked.

"All this fainting and crap." Leah answered with a hint of frustration in her voice. Before Seth could respond to her worries, Carlisle entered the room.

"I'm glad to see you awake again Leah." Carlisle said in his pleasant voice. He checked her vitals and once satisfied moved over to check Tamyra's as well. "I believe you have a few visitors outside the door shall I send them in?" He asked Leah. She agreed saying that she already knew who was stalking her from the hallway. Carlisle exited and allowed Jacob and Quil to enter.

* * *

Jacob entered the room and Leah was a little curious as to why he looked angry. Quil just looked plain nervous.

"Don't be so excited about me coming back from the dead." Leah joked. Quil let out a dry laugh just as Jacob mumbled.

"Believe me, you may not be so happy yourself." Leah was about to question Jacob when Seth beat her to it.

"Is Embry down there yet?" _Why would Embry be here?_

"Not yet but Brady and Collin are down there with him." Jacob answered him. _Down there with who? _Seth was still unnerved.

"Are you sure those two can handle it?" Seth questioned.

"Don't worry, Blondie's got it under control if they screw up." Jacob explained.

"Yeah she keeps calling him Royce or something like that in her evil demon voice." Quil added. _Who the heck is Royce? _Seth nodded his head. Leah remembered that she had a voice and could speak.

"Guys, who's downstairs?" All three heads looked at her with different expressions. Before she received the answer to her question, a light knock came from the door. Quil opened it and in walked Edward.

"Excuse me but I picked out something from his thoughts and he believes that he can help her." Edward said evenly. This caught Seth's attention.

"He can help Tamyra?" Edward nodded then shot a quick glance at Leah. A silence fell over the room.

"Bring him up." Jacob said gruffly. Edward tipped his head quickly before disappearing back out the room. Jacob let out a frustrated sigh before turning his attention to Leah. "Leah, there's been some crazy stuff that's happened since you've been out." Jacob explained uneasily.

"Jake stop jerking me around and tell me what's going on." Leah insisted. Jacob sighed again.

"Do you remember the argument you had with Myra?" Jacob asked. Leah nodded. "Well we brought you two here right after you both collapsed again and we couldn't wake you. Your vitals have been getting better all week but Tamyra's weren't. They weren't changing. Nothing. Then I got a call yesterday from Embry, saying that he needed to meet with me. Turns out, Sam has already named Embry alpha but at Embry's request, Sam has taken the position as his beta. That's not the topper Lee. I told him to meet me today here, and bring Sam if he wanted but I wasn't expecting who else he brought with him." Leah continued to lock eyes with Jacob who turned around to catch both Seth's and Quil's gazes. _This can't be good, he's not keeping eye contact._

"Jacob I'm going to ask again, who's downstairs?" Another knock came from the door. Jacob told whoever to come in without breaking his gaze with Leah. In walked Edward, his face uncharacteristically tense, but with him came the gust of a scent, that Leah would have preferred to go her whole life and never smell again. She didn't notice her hands automatically ball into fists. She felt a growl build in her throat although she tried to suppress it. The looming body engulfed the doorway making Edward seem smaller than normal. The only thing that caused the growl from erupting was Leah's surprise at his larger size. He glanced in her direction but quickly diverted his eyes, preferring the condemning looks of her pack mates instead.

"You said you could help her." Seth said as more of a command than a statement. He nodded then quickly went to Tamyra's bedside. He assessed her for a few moments, matching his breathing with her own. Leah at this point noticed how quiet her mind was, not being able to hear the other's girls thoughts. _It's like she's dead. _Leah quickly removed the thought as she continued watching the new intruder. He bent to his knees then placed his right hand on the left side of Tamyra's face. He pressed his right cheek to hers and began what Leah thought was whispering in her ear. She heightened her hearing and realized that he was purring soothingly in Tamtra's ear. It became melodic, and Leah soon found herself falling into a hypnotic state, until Tamyra's heart monitor spiked suddenly. The noise snapped everyone out of their stupor as Carlisle rushed in. The beeps slowly returned to a steady beat. Moments later Tamyra began to stir. Her eyes flew open, she was disoriented but her gaze immediately fell to her savior.

"Tre?" She whispered uneasily, it made Leah cringe. Tamyra blinked a few more times. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to make sure you were okay." Tre answered quickly. Leah noticed that his voice was the same although it had a deeper solid sound to it. Tamyra then noticed the others in the room. When her gaze settled on Seth, she smiled slightly. Tre started to back away. Tamyra shot her hand out for his. "Wait, can't you stay a little longer?" She begged. He looked around at the various people in the room although he blatantly avoided Leah's gaze.

"I don't think that would be such a good-"

"He'll be downstairs when you're feeling up to moving about." Jacob cut Tre off, anxious to get the other alpha out of the room but trying to appease Tamyra. Tamyra nodded sadly. It wasn't until Tre backed out of the room completely that Leah realized she had been grinding her teeth. Carlisle had been checking and recording Tamyra's vitals while Edward escorted Tre back downstairs. Seth and Tamyra were having a moment. Jacob dropped his defensive stance and went to sit on Leah's bed.

"What is he doing here Jacob?" Leah asked seething.

"That's what I was getting to Leah. He's been with the LaPush pack. Apparently he's been helping them train for the past few weeks." Leah listened in complete disbelief. Although she didn't have the greatest of fans in the other pack, she still felt the sting of betrayal. They hadn't mentioned anything about getting help from the man she despised the most. "They said they would explain everything when you regained consciousness." Jacob finished. Leah could feel her eyes start to burn from keeping them open so long without blinking. "Lee listen to me, you don't have to listen to anyone today if you're not up to it." Leah didn't let Jacob finish. She angrily ripped the wires off of her, and yanked the IV out despite the pain. She pushed Jacob aside and bounded out of the door ignoring the calls from her pack mates. Her exaggerated stomps down the staircase could be heard throughout the house. She passed by the kitchen barely registering Esme holding a tray of cookies with an expression of concern. When Leah reached the living room she could feel her angry breathing taking a toll on her weak body, but she held her ground, focusing solely on one pair of eyes out of the many staring back at her.

"I'm awake. Someone better start explaining and if it's anything but the truth, so help me you will not enjoy the last 5 minutes of your life."

* * *

Seth watched as his sister left the room in a rage. Jacob followed after her along with Quil. Carlisle simply shook his head before adjusting the machines that Leah had just left in disarray.

"You should go down there." Tamyra whispered.

"I need to be here with you, you just woke up." Tamyra shook her head at Seth's answer.

"Believe me, Leah will need you at her side for this. I'm fine now." Seth was about to protest when Tamyra stopped him. "Besides I'm in Dr. Cullen's more than capable hands." Seth looked over at Carlisle who nodded his head in agreement. Seth kissed Tamyra's forehead before running down the stairs just as Leah yelled in the living room.

* * *

"Leah please try to calm down, I'll explain everything to you." Embry pleaded having arrived just moments before with Sam. Leah's angry gaze shifted to him as he spoke. "We came to make a momentary truce. The battle is only a few months away and we realize that the only way we'll be prepared is if we work together as one unit. It's our responsibility to do what's best for the tribe." Leah scoffed loudly.

"Responsibility? What the crap do any of you know about being responsible?" Leah knew she was letting her anger get the best of her again but she couldn't stop." Sam," his head shot up. "Where's Leo?"

"He's with Kim." Sam said simply. Leah let out a humorless laugh.

"Right I'm sure you're the top candidate for father of the year. And you," Leah's glare shifted to Tre, "I don't even know what to say about that trash." Leah waved him off before focusing on Embry again. "I'm sure you feel all high and mighty Call but what kind of alpha harbors a fugitive in their ranks?"

"Leah listen to me, we didn't do this as a personal attack on you. It's just that this is what was best in the greater scheme of things." Embry attempted to explain. "We were training blind. We needed someone to help us prepare for the fight as well, we didn't want the blunt of the fighting to fall to your smaller pack." He continued. Sam, looking stoic as ever, decided to speak up.

"Leah this was mostly my idea, do not blame Embry-"

"Embry's alpha who else am I to blame? " Leah could feel her body temperature rising from having to deal with the three before her. All talking ceased as it became clear to the guys that they weren't going to appease Leah.

"Leah perhaps I should explain." A few growls and hisses erupted at this voice. Tre took a step toward Leah but Rosalie let out a vicious snarl promptly stopping him from moving any farther. Leah stared at him, her anger building in her eyes, waiting for him to continue. "Perhaps we could speak in private."

"No way buddy." Seth said quickly from behind Leah. Had she not been so enraged at the moment, she would have let the small grin grace her face at her brother's defending her. Tre nodded.

"I haven't gone far since, that day. I came back to LaPush about 4 weeks ago. I ran into Sam and explained that his pack would need the help and inside knowledge that you all had. We made a deal. I would help them train and catch them up to your pack's progress and they would find an alternative to prison for me."

"What's the alternative because I assure you it is nowhere near what you deserve?" Leah asked. Tre dipped his head momentarily before meeting her gaze again.

"I'm more or less the pack's target practice and punching bag." Quil quickly stifled a laugh, as a few of the vampires hid their smiles. Leah made sure her face showed no amusement. Tre didn't break his gaze at Leah. "I still mean what I said before about not wanting to bring so many problems on your people. I couldn't leave without seeing this battle through."

"And? What happens after the battle do you think you'd just be forgiven? Welcomed back with open arms?"

"No. I would never expect to be forgiven for what I've done personally. I just want to make amends for the problems caused by my former pack."

"And what about your sister? Why have you been keeping her out of the loop?" Leah continued relentlessly questioning him.

"To make it easier." This confused the room. Tre continued. "I cut you both off to prepare you. If I survive the battle, I'm leaving shortly after."

"Tamyra's going to follow you." Leah said as a matter of fact.

"No she won't. That's why I prepared her to be disconnected from me. And besides, you're her alpha now, her panther will prefer you to me."

"You're her brother." This broke Tre's focus on Leah. His eyes turned downcast.

"It doesn't matter." Leah figured that his submissive, soft spoken tones were a ruse to calm her but she had resolved herself to hate him. _No amount of kissing up will save him. _Leah crossed her arms over her chest while she studied him. She growled when his eyes drifted to her baby bump with a look of longing. After a moment he spoke again. "I just wish to continue to help. I will stay as far away as feasible from you if you wish."

"Leah I know you hate this but we need him. He's worked under that beta Damien and he knows what types of things to expect." Embry begged. Leah's nose flared in frustration. She knew she was being backed into a corner. Everyone's eyes were on her, as if they were waiting on her decision.

"Jacob's the alpha, if he wants you around-" Leah started but Jacob cut her off.

"Lee you're the beta. If you don't want them here-"

"Of course I don't want him here… but we should do whatever is needed to ensure the battle is a success." Leah felt angry with herself for being so understanding. Jacob pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on.

"Well then if you're sure," Leah nodded her head," We train three times a week Embry, I'll expect your pack to be there." Embry and Sam both nodded their heads as they walked off with Jacob to discuss specifics. Tre stood awkwardly in the center of the room. He occasionally would glance in Leah's direction but he seemed to be struggling with wanting to meet her gaze and hiding from it. Leah didn't back down. She continued to study him. Even though he was still blocking their mental connection, Leah didn't need to hear his thoughts to know that the guilt of his previous transgressions was eating him alive.

"Come here." Leah commanded him. Although she couldn't actually _command _him he complied after hesitating for a moment. He slowly walked towards her, this time ignoring the hisses coming from their audience. As his overbearing frame got closer Leah cursed herself for flinching slightly out of buried fear. He stopped moving when he was about two feet away from her. "Closer." He took another step and closed the gap between them. Leah had to tilt her head slightly to look him dead in the eye. _His eyes…they're the same but…different. _She cleared her mind of the confusing thought. "If you're going to be around, I have a few _conditions _of my own." Tre nodded. "You'll follow them and in no way does it mean that you're forgiven, because _that_ will _never _happen." He nodded again. His humble act was really ticking Leah off because it was almost making her feel guilty for what she about to do. Almost. _Knee him in the baby maker._

And she did. Leah promptly turned around after doing so just as he let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the floor. Leah felt a little smug that her pregnancy hadn't diminished all of her speed, and she could still catch him off guard. She moved her hands to her hips as she made her way to the stairs. Seth was standing there, failing to hold in his laughter. Leah could only guess the rest of the living room was losing the same battle. When she made her way back to the makeshift hospital room Carlisle was waiting outside the door with a look of disappointment on his face, although Leah could tell he was trying to fight off a smile himself.

"What's wrong doc, didn't enjoy the show?" Leah asked as he led her into the room.

"You really shouldn't strain yourself, especially before I have a chance to properly check the baby." Leah sat back on her bed as Carlisle began reconnecting her to some of the machines.

"Don't worry, I didn't strain myself at all." Leah looked over and noticed that Tamyra was asleep again. "What's with her?" Leah asked, lowering her voice. Carlisle answered without looking over.

"She's fine, I'm not sure what that boy did to her but he broke her out of her coma. I guess it caused her to use a lot of energy, she went back to sleep moments after Seth joined you all down stairs." Leah nodded. _I'll have to ask the douche about that later.

* * *

_

Seth stayed downstairs as Tre continued to groan from his most recent injury. Everyone was being entertained as he fell into a fetal position on the floor. The Cullen house phone rang and Seth heard Esme answer it. He could smell that she had just baked a fresh batch of cookies so he let his nose do the leading. Before he could reach his destination, Esme was in front of him holding the phone.

"Seth you'll want to take this." She said seriously. Seth was confused as to who would be calling the house asking for him.

"Who is it?"

"It's your mother." She stated just as Seth could hear his mother yelling into the phone about her irresponsible kids running off for a week without telling her where they are.

_Crap!

* * *

_

_A/N: _This is a long chapter for me at least. Timeline:Leah and Tamyra are 6 weeks/18 weeks pregnant

um oh and I like died from happiness when I opened my email and read all the reviews...to reply to a few

X5-452: LOLOLOL!  
xXUsAgIkIxX: I love how you sum up each chapter within one sentence :p  
ari11990: thank you for all of the subliminal messages :D  
LoveIt123: loved your mood swings lol while reading the chapters  
bvc17: Impressive! Also that dude in your profile pic thing was making me drool :p  
CallmeEmbrys: :)  
Jada91: haha Jacob_ is_ the voice of reason  
firaallamoon: Thanks!

Gosh that was a really long author's note


	11. Chapter 10

"So let me get this straight. He shows up for training, teaches them all they need to know, volunteers to be the target in every exercise, then allows himself to get beat up by 20 teenage wolves. Then after said beating he goes out to sleep in the forest and does the whole thing all over again the next day?" Jacob nodded. "That's rich!" Leah laughed, a few of her pack mates joined her but her laugh had a devious undertone to it. Seth chose to ignore it. The pack was currently sitting outside the Cullen's front door, waiting for the LaPush pack to show up for the first day of the joint training. In an attempt to cheer up his beta, Jacob decided to let Leah along with the rest of the pack in on Tre's misadventures that he'd learned from Embry.

"What's on the agenda for today Jake?" Collin asked cheerfully. He was the most excited out of the pack about the other pack joining. Seth knew it was because he'd be able to spend time with his friends that he hadn't seen since he'd been 'traded'.

"We're probably going to be gauging to see where the other guys are in terms of speed. It'll give you two a chance to rub it in your friends' faces at how much faster you are." Jacob replied gesturing towards Collin and Brady. Collin laughed in response while Brady smiled. Everyone looked up when Quil emerged from the trees. "Quil man, I said we were meeting an hour ago!"

"Yeah I know but Claire spent the night and she's not a morning person, took me about a half hour to get her to agree to change out of her pjs. Her mom always wigs out on me when she picks her up and she's not dressed for the day." Quil explained.

"Did you see the other pack on your way up here?" Collin asked him.

"Yeah a few of them were gathering outside Sam's house. Funny things is, they're all wearing the same camouflage shorts." Quil said laughingly.

"Dorks. I bet the girls went shopping for them recently." Leah added.

"Why don't our girls go shopping for us?" Jacob fake whined. Leah smacked him upside his head, just as Alice popped out the front door.

"Did I hear something about shopping?" She asked with this wide eyed look at everyone. Seth thought she looked a little freaky with that expression.

"Uh…no Alice, we were just saying that the other pack went shopping." Jacob said uncertainly. Alice pouted.

"In that case I'm switching allegiances!" She said then stomped back into the Cullen's house. The pack waited a few moments before bursting out in laughter at her tantrum. When they settled down Jacob turned his attention to Seth.

"Hey Seth, where's Myra?" Seth noticed Brady look at him expectantly.

"She went for a quick jog."

"What?! Seth how could you let her run! She just recently came out of a coma. You can't just let her-" Brady started ranting before Seth cut him off.

"Calm down. Carlisle cleared it. She's not going far, just around the property. She just wanted to stretch her legs a little." Seth explained calmly. Brady settled down.

"Do you think everyone's gonna show up?" Leah asked offhandedly although Seth could tell that she was inquiring about a specific person. Jacob answered without thinking.

"They better. I told him to have his pack here. This is their idea they better stick to the conditions."

"Hopefully _all_ of the conditions." Leah added then focused all of her attention on her fingernails. Seth tapped his foot impatiently. Another ten minutes passed before the scents of the other pack began to fill the air. Jacob stood as did a few of the pack members, Seth included. Leah didn't move.

"Looks like they're marching in as a unit." Quil said while he gazed into the trees. Seth squinted his eyes but couldn't see anyone.

"How can you see them?"

"I can't but I can smell how far away they are from each other, and where everyone is located." Quil said as he shrugged. Seth turned his head questioningly.

"How did you get so good with your nose?" Quil shrugged again.

"Claire." A few others turned their heads in question at this. Quil noticed and elaborated. "She likes to play hide and seek a lot, and I always sniff her out first, to make sure she hasn't decided to hide anywhere dangerous." Seth nodded his head in comprehension. Once Embry and Sam emerged, Jacob started walking towards them. When Jared, Paul, and Tre appeared it became clear that Embry was standing at the point. Seth quickly moved to his place as third, while Quil, Collin, and Brady moved to their positions. Seth realized his sister had yet to get up from her spot on the porch.

"Leah aren't you gonna join us? I mean you _are_ beta." Leah looked up then.

"No. I thought I'd watch from back here." She returned her attention to her thumbnail.

"Leah now." Jacob said gruffly as the next few rows of wolves emerged from the trees. Leah rolled her eyes before walking lazily to the beta spot.

"Boys always wanna show off their guns…" Leah muttered when she reached Jacob's side. The slow pace that the other pack was moving at, caused it to take longer than needed for the two packs to meet in the middle. Jacob and Leah simultaneously rolled their eyes after having waited at the center point for nearly ten seconds. _What is this, a Baywatch intro?_ Jacob then started moving closer to speed up the process. The pack followed. Just when the two points met up, Tamyra along with a few of the Cullens emerged from the house. Tamyra quickly jogged to join Jacob's pack, while Rosalie and Emmett started for the trees. This set off an alarm in Sam's mind.

"Where are they going?" He asked while a few of the younger wolves growled lowly in their direction.

"They're patrolling, we figured since every wolf is here, someone still needs to protect Forks and LaPush." Jacob answered evenly.

"You're sending leeches to protect humans?!" Sam snarled unbelieving.

"Don't worry they fed twice as much as needed about an hour ago, and they're not going over the border, just near it." Jacob explained just as calmly. This didn't seem to settle well with Sam. Embry decided to speak up although it was still timid.

"You could have spoken with me about this Jake." Jacob crossed his arms across his chest.

"Oh yes I forgot, you are the high and mighty alpha now aren't you Embry." Seth wanted to laugh at how _Leahy _Jacob sound with that statement. Sam and Paul both growled at Jacob, which caused Leah to growl back at them. A smirk crept to Jacob's face, as he joined in on the growling. Soon, both packs were growling at each other. Seth noticed that Tamyra was getting irritated with the sounds but when she let out a "Meow," Seth nearly doubled over in laughter. A few of the wolves were trying to hide their chuckles and snickers. Even Leah was trying to stifle a laugh. Suddenly Tre held up his hand effectively killing the mood.

"If I may Jacob?"

* * *

Jacob nodded to allow Tre to speak.

"I've been training with the LaPush pack but we may have to back track some."

"We haven't done much else besides getting our speed up. There's not much to back track to." Jacob stated a little confused.

"That's what I'm saying. They're not very fast. Embry, Jared, and one of the lads back here are pretty quick but that's about all. Even they would probably have trouble keeping up with Seth or Collin at this point." Tre explained. Leah heard Collin and Brady snicker at this. She noticed that Sam wasn't included in the top three fastest which confused her.

"Then we'll gauge everyone's speed and split up to work on getting better in smaller groups." This caught Leah off guard.

"You mean we're not keeping the packs segregated?"

"That's the point of combining our training, so that we can work together as one unit." Embry explained.

"I can already tell you that's not gonna work," Paul began," There's three alphas in the mix, it's gonna be chaos."

"Four alphas actually." Leah corrected him. He didn't understand.

"Sam's not alpha anymore-"

"I'm not talking about Sam." Leah said cutting him off. Tre threw her glance. Tamyra picked up on Leah's hesitation.

"She's my alpha." Tamyra stated, "Tre made her his alpha female." It took a few moments before the news settled in the other pack's mind. Sam started growling at Tre, who glanced at the other alpha but seemed unaffected by the hostility. Leah found it odd that none of the imprints had told the wolves about Leah's forced position since they were there the day they discovered it. _Then again they probably didn't want them to know they were with us. _Embry decided to get everyone back down to business.

"I say we go along with what Jake says." Embry suggested.

"We'll start with a few races. Embry and I will race first." Jacob stated as everyone broke out of formation to watch. After Jacob and Embry had raced 5 times, Jacob blowing out Embry every time, it was determined that everyone would race to see who they matched up with in terms of speed. One person who was considerably faster would be in each group so that there was some sort of push to get the others to run faster. Brady ended up leading most of the younger wolves in the LaPush pack. Collin led the rest of them, while Seth and Quil partnered to lead Sam and Paul's group. Embry and Jared's group was led by Jacob and Leah, the latter spending most of her time watching and taunting the loser of the races.

"What's your name kid?" Jacob asked the young wolf in his group. Seth walked by just as Jacob asked this.

"Solomon." He answered in a nasally voice. Seth laughed.

"Long time no see. Pick up any more spies since we last saw you?" The boy shot Seth a nasty look that only caused Seth to snicker some more. He explained to Leah and Jacob that Solomon was one of the boys that had busted Seth and Quil's espionage. Solomon smirked at this. Leah lost interest in the conversation and decided to scope out what the others were doing. She noticed that Tamyra and Tre were both giving pointers to the younger wolves. At some point Edward, Jasper and Bella had decided to join the shape shifters. Bella stayed glued to Edward's side while Jasper seemed to want to find the least emotional person in the group and stand near them. Leah laughed softly until she noticed that Edward was completely focused on Tre. She started to ask him what he was reading from the guy's mind but was brought back to reality when Jacob called to her.

"Earth to Leah mama." Jacob said as he waved in front of her face.

"Leah mama? Really?" Leah asked. Jacob smirked.

"Hey in a few weeks I won't be the only one calling you that."

"Last time I checked, infants aren't born talking." Leah shot back. Jacob ignored her.

"You mind calling this race between Solomon and me?" He requested. Leah agreed. The result: Jacob smoked Solomon. _No surprise there. _The day continued on like this for a few more hours before Collin came bounding towards the alpha group.

"Hey Jake, Leah," Collin began, effectively ignoring the others present. "Listen a few of the guys were wondering if we could shake up the training a bit." He said, a little uncertain as if he were gauging whether or not he'd be shot down.

"What did you have in mind?" Jacob asked him. Collin looked around the circle.

"We were hoping that we could throw in a little tagging. I know you don't want to work on combat until later but we were getting bored with the never ending races." _It makes sense _Leah decided. They had been doing nothing more than racing for the past few weeks. Jacob cocked his head to the side.

"Sure," Jacob agreed after a moment. A few other wolves had gathered around to hear Collin's request, "But who are we gonna tag?" Jacob asked in return. Collin evidently hadn't thought that far. He didn't have to. An incredible silence fell over the group as everyone turned to face the silent volunteer whose shoulders slumped upon realization.

"Tre! Good of you to volunteer." Jacob said as he went to slap the alpha on his back hard enough to make him stumble. Tre rubbed his shoulder before phasing. He let out a purr and shook out his coarse fur.

* * *

Embry having more experience with this game of "tag" that the packs were about to play, decided to take over and explain the rules. There were none. Tre would run out into the woods, using his ten seconds head start then everyone else would phase, sniff him out, and take him down by any means possible.

"Just don't kill him we still need him for another few months. But you can be rough." Embry finished explaining.

"Actually that should be encouraged. Be rough…be very very rough." Leah added earning a few hoots and howls of approval. Tre dipped his large panther head. Seth prepared to strip out of his clothes along with the rest of the wolves. The other pack had obviously become more comfortable with phasing having gotten used to it being a girl free zone. Once they realized that Leah and Tamyra were still around they had the decency to crouch low to the ground to shield themselves. Once most of the wolves were crouched, Embry gave Tre a nod. He shot off into the woods. It wasn't until Seth was waiting, exposed on the ground that he realized ten seconds was a lengthy amount of time for Tre or any panther for that matter to get far. _The battle can't last long… those cats will get away from us. _Suddenly Embry called everyone off. All 20 plus wolves dove into the forest. It was then that it became obvious who was fastest amongst the packs. Seth followed Tre's scent but he became confused, along with the others from his pack when most of the wolves continued on a path as opposed to following the scent.

_Jake what's going on? _Seth heard the other guys ask as well. Jacob stayed silent for a little bit before answering.

_Embry just told me that Tre likes to scatter his scent around, the others have been practicing this a while, they know to follow the freshest, most dense concentration of his scent as opposed to the sporadic weaker trails. _Jacob explained. The guys all seemed to understand. _You don't want to get tricked into following a cat up into a tree. _Jacob added. It only took about a minute and a half for the first few wolves to catch up to Tre. By the time Seth arrived, he was already getting a beating from a large group of the wolves. Seth found it strange that his presence caused the guys to make a path for him. He walked until he reached the bloodied and battered panther. He was already panting heavily. Seth was about to take pity on him, but Tre seemed to notice by righting himself on four legs again.

_Dude I think he wants you to beat him down again. _Quil said unbelieving. _I can't say he doesn't deserve it but…_Quil's thought trailed off.

_Seth you do what you need to do. _Jacob said in an authoritative voice. Seth nodded his wolf head then took a few more steps toward Tre. He bared his teeth and crouched low. The other wolves backed away leaving a clear circle for the two to battle it out. Seth could almost feel the pressure rising to pounce on the other animal. _Animal? That's what I'm thinking of him as? When did he cease to be human? _Seth knew the rest of his pack could hear his struggle but they chose to stay quiet and just when they thought they were about to give away their own thoughts, they focused on miniscule details about the forest._ Was it when he raped my sister? Or was it when I found out he did? Was it when he became an alpha? Or has he been one all along? _Seth continued to eye him, stupidly wondering if _he _would give the answer. He simply stood there, waiting for the attack. He didn't make any move to defend himself. Seth growled out of frustration. _Why did my conscience have to rear its head again? Why now? Whatever I do to him would be justified. Everyone would condone it-they're probably rooting for me to do it, even he's asking for it. _Seth began to circle Tre, the others watching silently. _Why can't I be more like my brothers? Gung ho with the shoot now ask questions later bit. _Seth immediately started thinking about his imprint. He hissed at himself, angry that he couldn't take his mind off of her long enough to even make one conscious decision. Thinking that he should be focusing on his sister. On Leah and what she would want him to do. _Defend her? Rip him to pieces?

* * *

_

A/N: I know I took a while to update but that wierd writer's block I was having...it never disappeared, it just got pushed back a lil chapter just was not coming to me. *rips eyebrows off* I think I can get back on track now...oh yeah I started another fic but its different it's called Clue you should read it and tell me what you think. If not a lot of people like it I may not continue past a few chaps, but I'll finish this one first.


	12. Chapter 11

Once the guys bounded into the trees, Leah found herself drifting towards the few vampires scattered about. Edward seemed to be deep in thought. Leah took it upon herself to pull him out of that state.

"What did you pick up from him?" Leah asked. Edward turned to her.

"I'm not sure yet. It's different from last time. He's learned how to control his alpha a lot more but…" he paused, "I think he's learned much more than any of us could comprehend at the moment." That threw Leah. She wasn't even sure she understood what Edward had just said. "I know that it's confusing but once I discuss this with Carlisle and Jasper, you'll be the first to know our theories." Leah still found herself lost in the conversation although it was a little one sided. "It is difficult for me to articulate what I believe is going on in his mind." Edward added, sensing that Leah wasn't satisfied with his answer. He was saved from having to elaborate any further when Tamyra mentally called her.

_Leah, can I speak to you for a moment? _Leah sighed. She realized that she hadn't actually spoken with the girl since they woke from their comas. Leah wasn't exactly looking forward to this confrontation. She turned around and saw Tamyra sitting in the grass quite a distance away. She was just staring off into the trees. When she moved to get up, Leah told her to sit back down.

_I'll come to you. _Edward pretended to not hear the conversation going on between the girls and excused himself to join Bella and Jasper. When Leah joined Tamyra, she sat beside her, mimicking the other girl's pose. She tried to pull her knees up to her chest but with her stomach the equivalent of the stomach of a 4.5 month pregnant woman, she had a little difficulty. Her legs ended up not coming anywhere near her chest, and she had to lean back on her hands just to keep her balance. _Just think, we'll be in this same pose in a few weeks…maybe we can make the kids come out early if we sit like this long enough. _Tamyra laughed at Leah's thoughts. They finally settled into a comfortable silence.

"Leah." Tamyra placed one of her hands on top of Leah's knee. _I believe I need to apologize. _She continued in thought.

"About what?" Leah asked feigning ignorance as she pulled a blade of grass out of the ground.

_You know what about. _"It's a few things actually. The main one being some of the stuff I said about a week ago." Tamyra continued, this time looking at Leah who still continued to find more interest in the ground.

_Oh you mean the last time we spoke to each other. _"Don't worry I'm over it." Leah saw Tamyra roll her eyes out of her peripheral. She knew Leah was lying.

"You shouldn't be over it." Tamyra said harshly, giving away a double meaning. She took a breath and continued. "What I meant was, that I'm sorry for telling you that you should just move on like what happened to you was nothing." _I know it hurt you and you need time to heal from the incident. _She added calmly in her thoughts.

_I don't need your pity. _"I'm fine. You were right I don't have time to loath everything when I have a child on the way." Leah said unconvincingly.

"No I was not right!" Tamyra wrenched her hand off of Leah. She composed herself again after a few moments. "Listen to me, you have every right to be furious, but I just want you to know that I apologize for trying to force my ideals on you. Tre is always going to be my brother. This-this kind of thing is always gonna be a grey area for me." Leah looked at Tamyra finally. "This is a black and white deal for you, because you were the victim but I-I," she stuttered as if she wasn't sure if she really wanted to say what she was about to say. Tamyra took another breath before continuing. "Everyone thinks that they know what's right and what's wrong and most assume that they'll do what's right but when someone you've loved, someone that has been there through everything finds themselves on the wrong side of the line, you find that right and wrong can get a little skewed. I appreciate everything you, and Seth, and your mom, the pack, everything you've done for me and my brother," she added offhandedly," but I'm just-just a little unsure of who I'm becoming… I do value your friendship, whether it was forced or not, and I don't want to push you away so soon after getting to know you." Leah felt surprisingly better after having the other girl suffer through verbalizing her own feelings.

"I guess I should apologize too." Leah said after a moment. Tamyra looked at her curiously. "I shouldn't have said you molested my brother." Leah broke out in a grin as Tamyra playfully slapped her hand. They laughed a few minutes.

"Man, I feel like we should hug or something." Tamyra said uncomfortably. Leah looked up at the clouds.

"Yeah it does feel like that." She agreed. They looked at each other then. "Sike!" they both said in unison.

"Jinx!" Leah yelled then they both fell into a fit of laughter. The moment was killed when Emmett appeared from the trees.

"Hey look everybody! She-Wolf and Cat-Woman are friends again!" He yelled in his booming voice.

* * *

"Seth my man!" Collin said as he smacked Seth on his back, "That was some real stuff you did back there." He continued. A few of the younger wolves agreed as they finished up eating at the Cullen's house. The completion of the first joint training day was deemed a success, since no one had died. Seth took his fourth plate and ventured outside. He looked across the yard where Jacob, Embry, Leah, and Sam were talking and discussing. Tre and Tamyra weren't standing too far away from them. Seth was about to drift closer to them but Collin re appeared and stopped him. "Hey a few of the guys are heading back to the Rez, then go cliff diving after this. You in?" Collin asked, hopeful. Brady over heard and walked over.

"I can't man," Collin's face fell. "My mom grounded me for a month. Something about running off to vampires and not telling her about Leah being nearly dead," Seth shrugged. "I don't see how it's any different from last time. She said I'm only allowed out for training days and patrol." He finished. Collin looked disappointed. He immediately turned to Brady.

"Brady, you're going right?" He asked, this time a little desperation was in his voice. Brady glanced towards the 6 that were meeting on the lawn.

"I don't know man, maybe." Brady said uncertain.

"C'mon what do you have to do? You're not grounded." Collin argued.

"I know I just want to make sure I'm not tied up." Brady countered.

"You're tied up alright. Tied up on a leash!" Collin spat angrily. Brady and Seth shared a look before the other boy walked off. "Guys let's go." He called to a group of the young wolves that abruptly got up and followed him out the door.

"What's his problem?" Brady asked after the group was headed into the woods. Seth rolled his eyes.

"It's pretty obvious don't you think?" Seth replied. Brady just shrugged his shoulders as he popped a muffin into his mouth. The two stood in silence outside the Cullen house for a few more moments.

"Did Myra eat yet?" Brady all but gasped. Seth shook his head.

"That's what I'm talking about." He continued in a weary tone hoping that Brady caught on. He didn't. Seth just walked away continually shaking his head. Tamyra noticed his approach and detached herself from the group to meet him. "What's the big discussion about?" He asked her as he nodded towards the others.

"They're just making plans for how the rest of the training days are gonna run." She said with a wave of her hand. Seth nodded in agreement. He then lowered his voice.

"_Did _you eat yet?" He asked. She smiled.

"Yes I feel like I've been eating all day." Seth broke out into a grin.

"So do you want to head home with me?" He asked her. She nodded in agreement, missing his attempt at suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

"I cannot wait to get some sleep!" She replied. Seth's jaw dropped in disappointment.

* * *

By the end of the week, both packs had survived 3 days of training together.

"I don't know what it is but I am seriously craving a plate of sauerkraut and a tall glass of milk." Leah told Tamyra, Bella, and Alice as they all sat together during one of the breaks in training. A few of the wolves and Emmett had a game of football going not too far away.

"I may not be human anymore but I'm pretty sure that doesn't sound tasty." Bella said. Leah ignored her, not quite sure why the girl felt comfortable near her. Let alone enough to speak, and give an opinion. Tamyra sensed Leah's sudden mood change and decided to change the subject.

"Alice do you know of any good stores where Leah and I will be able to find baby clothes?" Alice brightened at the question and started gushing over all the stores she'd visited to buy Renesmee's clothes. It distracted Leah from her previous bout of annoyance long enough to find another reason to be annoyed.

"Why do I have to be here? I mean, I'm not training or doing any physical activity for that matter. I'm just sitting in the dirt getting fatter everyday! Friggin hormones are screwin me all up! Why am I angry again?!" Leah yelled while throwing her hands up in the air. Everyone pretty much ignored her, having gotten used to her outbursts, which only added fueled her rage. It didn't last long because someone would inform Jasper and he would take the liberty to calm her down again. A "thank you Jasper" would quickly float through the air once she settled down again.

_Do you really have to verbalize every mood swing you have? _Tamyra thought to Leah.

_Yes. _Leah replied indignantly.

_Whatever-_

_Don't 'whatever' me! I'm quite uncomfortable being 5months pregnant!_

_You don't have to take it out on everyone-_

_I can take it out on whoever I want to! _Leah yelled mentally.

"Would you stop yelling at me?" Tamyra said verbally, having been deafened by Leah's mental screaming.

"I'm not yelling!" Leah yelled.

"Heads up!" One of the guys yelled but Leah was too distracted to notice the football flying straight for her at an insane speed. One of the girls screamed out of habit. Leah was surprised when she heard a vicious growl but no impact from the ball. She opened her tightly shut eyes and saw Tre crouched over her, holding the ball in his hands. He was growling at one of the LaPush wolves who had his hands up in surrender. "Hey man! I didn't mean it." Tre stood upright and threw the ball back to the boy, the impact causing some of the air to be knocked out of his lungs. Leah realized that her hands were covering her stomach protectively and that everyone on the lawn was watching the scene. Tre looked down at her. His expression softened before he simply walked away. Everyone stayed silent for a while before Leah spoke.

"Since when does your brother growl?" Tamyra rolled her eyes just as Sam approached.

"Leah you're okay right?" Leah confirmed that she was. Sam shook his head.

"They shouldn't be playing this close to you girls." He said. Leah scoffed.

"It doesn't matter, we're not so breakable." The girls nodded in agreement. Sam ignored the response.

"You may not be, but you're carrying something that is." Sam replied flatly. The girls had no response to that statement. Sam stood over their group for a few more moments before he seated himself at Leah's feet. The girls were all confused by the action but didn't speak on it. Leah, wanting to end the awkwardness decided to speak.

"How's my godson, haven't seen him in a while?" Sam hesitated before responding to the question.

"He's fine," was all he said. He continued looking out at the football game before turning to face Leah. "How's yours?" He said while pointing to her stomach.

"Cool," she shrugged, "Doc-vamp said the baby's one of the healthiest he's seen." She brushed a hand over the grass before continuing, "All I know is the baby already has one huge noggin and I am _not_ looking forward to pushing that load outta my-" Bella interrupted Leah by fake coughing. Alice began hitting her on the back while fighting the smile that was trying to break her face. Tamyra dropped her head as Leah dramatically turned to stare down the vamp who dared interrupt her tirade.

"Who the _frick_ do you think you are?" Leah asked, her blood boiling all over again. She'd realized that it had been too long since Leah had given Bella a verbal beat down. _Time to give her a reminder. _"I was having a very pleasant conversation with Sam-"

"I just didn't think Sam would want to hear about that sort of thing." Bella said cutting off Leah again. Leah's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"What sort of thing? Sam was a married man! He knows all about this stuff."

"Are you even thinking about how this is making him fe-" Leah stood up in the middle of Bella's argument then took two steps to tower over the seated vampire.

"I can talk about my vagagay with my ex boyfriend if I dang well please. Isn't that right Sam?" Leah barked.

"Sure thing." Sam replied quickly. Leah saw Edward approaching quickly, no doubt to come to his wife's aid. She didn't give him a chance to say anything, she just huffed and walked back to the house. _I need to pee anyway._

_

* * *

A/N: I don't know how to spell 'vagagay' (vuh-jay-jay) anywho this wasn't cleaned like at all, like I seriously typed that last sentence and posted. These are my trouble chapters, dont stop reading though, the plot shall pick up again soon also **Clue **_is my new fic I'm working on but it's not getting very much attention (I know I know its not Leah centric but she'll make an appearance *wink wink* so if you wanna show some love, could u please read it? :D

Oh and to whoever **leahrocks** was...you told me to answer you but uh...well I can't PM you so here it is...the answer.....

you have to wait and see......*rubs hands together evily* But on the real, I'm glad you like the story!


	13. Chapter 12

It was raining all day. _More like a downpour. _Seth sat by his window ledge holding his sleeping pregnant imprint in his lap. There was so much rain that no normal person would even bother going anywhere. It was one reason that it made him feel worse. Knowing that everyone else also was being kept inside. Feeling dreary. _Just like the weather. _

"I'm going out." Leah called while trudging down the stairs. _Figures, she'd be the odd on out. _Seth didn't make any attempt to respond not wanting to wake the beauty in his arms. Luckily he didn't have to.

"Leah, are you sure you want to go out in this storm?" Seth heard Sue question Leah from another room in the house. Leah huffed.

"Yes mom, and one it's not a storm, it's just rain, and two it's not like I can get sick." Leah said.

"Just because you can't get sick doesn't mean the baby can't." Sue argued. Seth could almost feel the inevitable eye roll Leah was making.

"The kid has two shape shifting parents, it probably has a better immune system than I do. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if its blood was the cure to cancer!" Leah exclaimed. Sue must have given in, since Seth heard the front door open and close a few seconds later. He found himself stroking Tamyra's hair as he continued looking out the window. His mind drifted to the past few months. _A week from today marks the half way point. _Seth thought about how quickly the first three months had passed since the declaration of war was made and how exhausted they'd made him. Seth only pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his mom talking in hushed tones in her room. He realized she was on the phone with Charlie. _She has to be, she's giggling like a school girl. _Seth thought as a slight smile spread across his face. He was happy that his mom was happy again. Even though he was a little…well extremely apprehensive about being a parent so young, he was still happy about it. _I only hope Leah can be happy as well._

* * *

Leah knew she was being stubborn, walking around in this type of weather. She'd looked out her window and the only reason she was in a somewhat agreeable mood was because she knew everyone else was doing the same thing and was just as dreary as she was. _Misery loves company. _She laughed to herself. When she walked by Seth's room and saw him perfectly content, it'd killed her already dead mood, and knowing that any minute, Sue was going to call her beau Charlie only sickened her more. She had to leave the house. _It was getting claustrophobic. _Leah was dressed in a large hoodie and some sweat pants to hide her stomach, so she made a pit stop at the store on the Rez. _Yum Snickers. _Leah grabbed a handful of the chocolate bars as she moved to the cashier. Just as she was about to reach him, a woman beat her in line. Leah sucked her teeth in irritation, with half a mind to tell the old bat off that is until said bat turned around to face her.

"Oh Leah, it's so nice to see you. What are you doing out in this weather?" The woman asked sweetly. Leah immediately recognized the woman as,

"Ms. Call…hi. I could ask you the same thing."

"How's the bun?" She asked. Leah looked at her in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Leah asked. Ms. Call slyly pointed towards Leah's poorly hidden stomach.

"The bun…you know like bun in the oven." Ms. Call hummed, apparently finding the whole thing humorous. Leah didn't.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Leah said angrily while she subconsciously pulled the hoodie down farther. Ms. Call shook her head amused.

"Don't worry, Leah I know everything. Embry told me."Ms. Call said with a little wave of her hand. Leah's eyes darted away then back again nervously.

"Told you what?"

"Oh you know," Ms. Call said, Leah just shook her head not quite sure what the woman thought she knew exactly. "About the wolves, and the patrols, and the vampires up in Forks…oh and your pregnancy of course!" Leah fought the urge to cover the woman's mouth, or slap her, to keep her quiet. She obviously hadn't inherited the whisper gene. "Actually it was Tenia who told me. It was an accident on her part, but I'd been getting a lot of slack from this whole rumor spreading around town about Billy and me." She said with a nervous chuckle. Leah looked around realizing that the cashier was no longer at his post, and that no one else was in the store. "I demanded Embry tell me everything and he pretty much summed up the last few years in two and a half hours." At this point Ms. Call leaned in towards Leah and dropped her volume considerably. "Is there really a little half vampire child running around in Forks?" _I wouldn't say running around. _Leah couldn't help the sarcastic tone that slipped into her answer.

" Yeah and she really is Jacob Black's imprintee." Leah replied mocking her. The older woman looked confused.

"Imprintee?" She asked. Leah pursed her lips. _Guess Call left out one important detail. _

"Here Ms. Call we did have some more SlimFast in the back." The cashier came out of hiding in the back room saving Leah from having to answer the other woman's question. Ms. Call smiled before handing over the cash. When she left, Leah quickly advanced to the counter without looking up, ready to do damage control.

"So kid how much of that did you hear?" Leah whispered quickly, pulling the hood up on her head.

"Leah?" The cashier asked suddenly. Leah looked up recognizing the voice.

"Solomon?" The boy nodded. Leah relaxed, "What are you doing here? I mean I didn't know Sam let you guys get real jobs with all the patrols and stuff." Solomon gave Leah a knowing smile, as if he had information that she only wished she knew.

"If you haven't noticed Leah, our pack is huge and there haven't been very many leeches roaming the grounds since that Italy thing way back. Besides, Sam isn't alpha anymore, Embry is and he says that we should all go out get jobs and learn how to be acclimated citizens in society for when the wolf gig is done." Solomon said as he rang up Leah's pile of junk food." Lucky me, my parents own this store so they were lenient when it came to hiring me, despite my not so great grades. I feel bad for the other guys though." Solomon added.

"Oh yeah isn't school starting back up for you kids soon?" Leah asked, a little bored with the direction the conversation had gone.

"School started a month ago, not that many of us have been going regularly, what with this epic battle coming up." Solomon added, a little angrily. Leah was surprised that he hadn't been happier about the prospect of being excused from school like most of the boys were. _I wonder why Seth hasn't been going to class, he should be a senior by now. _Leah shook her head then made a mental note to ask him about it later.

"How is Sam anyway?" Leah asked suddenly curious and thinking about how Embry must be changing policies in the pack. "He can't be happy about all the changes." Solomon shrugged as he finished bagging Leah's purchases.

"We don't really know. I tried probing his mind a few times, but there's so much pain, it's kind of hard to deal with." Leah found herself getting angry that none of the guys had compassion for Sam. Her expression must have given her away because Solomon quickly backtracked. "Don't get me wrong, we all feel sorry for the guy, it's just that, his mind is so void, so empty that you just get sucked in and it keeps going forever. I don't know how he deals with it. He just masks it all behind that expressionless face." Solomon paused as if thinking about something. "You seem to be the only one that can get anything out of him." He added, peaking Leah's interest.

"Whaddya mean?" Leah asked but before Solomon could answer her, the store phone rang. Solomon held up a hand then picked up the phone. _It must be one of his parents. _Leah thought. Realizing the call would be lengthy she left with her bag of goodies and decided to make another stop. _To the ex-boyfriend's house I go. _The rain had let up some but it was still pouring outside. Leah made it to Sam's quickly, his house not being too far from the store. She was about to barge in but decided to knock. Sam answered the door, almost giving away surprise on his face.

"Leah it's pouring outside, come in!" He said as he gently pulled her into the house. She dropped her bag on the nearest counter. "Make yourself comfortable." He offered her a seat at his kitchen island. She sat down gingerly. "So what brings you to my door so late?" He asked as he grabbed two cups out of a cabinet.

"I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd drop by. See how Leonard was doing-"

"He's not here, Rachel's keeping him overnight." Sam stated, Leah nodded her head.

"See how you were doing." She added softly. Leah wanted to curse herself for how girly it sound when it left her mouth. Sam's head popped up curiously from the coffee maker. He cleared his throat before adding the filter.

"I'm-I'm fine. How have you been?" The small talk had always been awkward between them. Even when Leah had extended the olive branch to Emily about them becoming cordial again, she knew Sam had never been sure if it was meant to include him as well.

"I've been good." Leah replied. They fell into a silence. The only sound feeling the air was the dripping of the water in the coffee maker. Leah was fed up with the silence and decided to speak. "Listen, Sam I only came here because I ran into one of the guys down at the store and he filled me in on some things going on with your pack."

"What kinds of things?" Sam asked.

"How Embry's running stuff differently, and how you aren't doing dealing with your pain." Sam leaned against a counter.

"Was it Solomon?" He asked sternly.

"Yeah why?" Leah asked not seeing the point in knowing her source's identity.

"The boy's too perceptive for his own good." Sam said before taking two steps to check the coffee. Leah knocked her knuckles on the table.

"Sam, you need to deal with this. I know guys have this whole thing about not talking about their feelings but this is serious and you need someone to help you through it." Leah said, her volume raising slightly.

"Someone like you?" Sam asked. Leah responded without thinking.

"Yes someone like…" she trailed off realizing what she was suggesting and offering at the same time. _I haven't dealt with my own feelings how can I help him with his? _Sam's expression softened ever so slightly knowing that she'd realized what he was insinuating. "Okay maybe not me, but someone. You can't mope around here for the rest of your life." Leah said waving her hand in a vague direction.

"Why not?"

"Why not what?"

"Why not you? You're obviously the only with enough guts to call me out on my crap. Why can't you help? Better yet why can't we help each other?" Sam asked hurriedly. Leah knew that the fact that he was rushing his words, meant he was nervous. _He hasn't been nervous since…well before he met Emily…oh and that one time I threatened to rip off his man parts as a wolf. _

"That's like the blind leading the blind." Leah said, she noticed Sam flinched although he was facing away from her busying himself with the unfinished coffee. Silenced enveloped the room again before Sam's shoulders slumped and he sat next to Leah.

"I'm not saying with just feelings, I'm saying we can help each other in…other ways." Sam said with a recognizable urgency. _This is like that time in high school when he first considered us having- _

"Sam, are you asking what I think you're asking?" Leah's eye twitched in realization at what he had just proposed.

"Leah I'm just asking that maybe could we start over. Work through everything together-"

"What, as friends? Sam you have to know that it would never be the same as before right?" Leah questioned curiously. She wasn't sure if she would like his answer. Sam let out a slow exhale.

"Leah, listen to me please. Emily was my sun, she was my everything, but that sun set and now all I have- all I care about- is my moon. Leah, you're my moon. I want you-no I need you." Sam started inching closer to Leah, who out of pure shock didn't move an inch in either direction. "Lee-Lee please I just want to feel again," he reached for her face, his palm cupping her cheek. "Make me feel again." He exhaled as if it were a final prayer. He quickly moved his face to hers, capturing her top lip between his lips. Releasing it with a breath then capturing the bottom. He tugged it a little, then lightly touched it with his tongue. Leah froze her mouth open ever so slightly. Sam's gaze shifted to her mouth, he paused only for a second before he claimed it with his. His slow sensual tongue began moving quicker within her mouth, his hands massaging her head and hair at first then moving down her neck to her torso making her shiver along her spine. He was gentle down there for obvious reasons. "Lee…" he breathed as his movements turned desperate. _He really does need this._ It wasn't until she moaned that Leah realized she had been returning the sentiments with just as much fervor. _I must need this too. _Sam lifted her off the stool easily and placed her on the counter, their lips not once disconnecting. She ran her soft palms down his toned abs. He began to run his rough fingers down her front, he faltered slightly when he reached her stomach. She didn't mind when he stopped at her navel, that is until he said her name, "Emily…" he whispered. Leah froze.

Her whole body seemed to shut down. Suddenly everything made sense. His urgency, his need, his limited arsenal of emotions…he was frustrated. He was both sexually and emotionally frustrated and it was making him angry, the only emotion he could portray accurately. He needed her because he was dead inside, and because without Emily she was the only one around who could arouse such strong feelings within him. He immediately realized his mistake. She'd never known her cousin's name could be such a mood killer. And that mood was immediately replaced with one they both had come to know and love…anger. Leah pushed him away slowly as she slid off the counter and to her feet. She bit her lip angrily, silently cursing the fact the she could taste him.

"You spin this poetry crap about me being your moon and how you need me but really all you're doing is thinking about my now dead cousin." Sam looked at her, guilt in his eyes. Leah finally looked up at him. "I'm not Jacob Black, I'm Leah Clearwater and I will _never_ settle for being someone's second best." Leah said as she poked him hard on his chest. Sam didn't reply immediately so Leah grabbed her things and started for the door. Sam found his voice as he followed her outside into the rain.

"Leah wait…please!" He begged. She didn't respond, just continued walking. "I'm quitting after the battle." He said flatly. It caught Leah's attention and she reluctantly slowed to a stop.

"What do you mean you're quitting?" Leah asked harshly without turning to meet his gaze. _What is with the guys around me and their need for pity?_

"The pack. I'm giving up my wolf." Leah turned around then.

"Why?" She asked, in both disbelief and concern. Sam's stance relaxed.

"We describe imprinting as a blind man seeing the sun for the first time but the funny thing is that after you've stared at the sun long enough, when you look away…you're still blind." Sam let out a heartless chuckle. The sound worried Leah for some reason. "My vision's fading." Leah shook her head while Sam took a few steps closer to her, neither bothered by the rain soaking them. "When Emily died, it's like she took with her everything that made me a functional human being. I can't see anyone. It's all dark and hazy. Even while I'm a wolf, I can barely hear or see anything better than an average human. I'm diminishing and I'm becoming more of a liability than a help to the pack." Leah had been shaking her head in disbelief the entire time he explained.

"How long have you known?" Sam shrugged.

"Since that day. It's the reason I've had trouble getting close to Leonard. The last time I've clearly seen his face was when the midwife placed him in my arms right as soon as he was born. Emily died shortly after and everything went dim. It's bad to say but I just sort of forgot about him." He paused," Until you came in. I could see you, clearly." Sam reached out to slick back some of Leah's hair. "I can still see you clearly, at least a lot clearer than everyone else." Sam admitted with a slight smile. "I want to try and be a better father to Leonard, but I have to finish up this wolf stuff first. That's why I had asked Embry earlier to take over the pack, I always thought he'd be good since, he'd had both Jacob and I as alphas, he'd been exposed to two different styles of leadership. It was just a plus that he happened to be Billy's son as well." Sam slipped his hands into his pockets as another small smile graced his face. "Anyway, I want things to settle so that I can focus on concentrating on my son. On seeing him and not relying on everyone else to take care of him. I don't want to be like my father." Sam finished his hand now resting on Leah's arm.

"Sam…I don't know what to say." Her mouth stayed open as she fought for the right words. "Does your pack know?" Sam shook his head.

"Only Embry knows. Jared suspects something but I haven't officially told him or Paul yet." Leah nodded absentmindedly. "I haven't told Jacob or the elders. I don't want everyone to be distracted before the big cat battle. I didn't even want to tell Embry but I needed to give him a reason as to why I was stealing him from your pack and making him my successor." Sam added with a shrug. Leah chuckled. _Guess I'll have to tell Seth and Quil that Embry wasn't a traitor after all. _"It was probably the wrong way to go about things but I don't regret my decisions." Sam added. Leah caught the double meaning.

"Sam, I meant what I said before about things not being the same as they were before." Leah said a little regretfully.

"I know. I just want to try and make things better than they are…between us." Sam finished both sadly and hopefully. Leah wiped some of the rain from her eyes.

"Who knows, maybe if we kiss and makeup, Jake and Embry will do the same." Leah said trying to be as hopeful as possible for his sake. Sam revealed a grin.

"Hopefully not in the same manner that we did." Sam added with a chuckle. "C'mon Lee, let's get you inside I think the coffee's ready."

* * *

**A/N: **Seriously guys, I've been talking too much in these but I just want to say that it's like 3am and I'm posting this because I've been trying to form this scene in my mind ever since I was working on book one and it's not perfect but I had to post. Oh and lovin all the feedback on how I suck at spellin vagagay/vajayjay/vuh-jay-jay :P anywhos I might periodically check this chapter in case I wanna change some stuff around.


	14. Chapter 13

"I don't know man she just came home and whacked me upside the head!" Seth complained on his house phone to Quil while he used his free hand to hold a bag of ice to his head. Quil laughed loudly causing Seth to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Why isn't it healing?" Seth shrugged dumbly before answering.

"I don't know but it stings. I wouldn't be surprised if I have a concussion." Seth pouted.

"Well what did you do to tick her off this time?" Quil asked.

"Nothin,"Seth screeched," I had just placed Myra in bed then she just comes in muttering something about school, Sam, oh and something about me and you being idiotic-"

"Wait how did I get dragged into the conversation? What did I do?" Quil said his volume raising out of surprise.

"I don't know man that's why I called to see if you-," Seth heard the phone beep," hey hold up man someone else is callin. I should probably see who it is, I'll call you back." Seth said quickly before placing the phone back on the receiver then waiting for it to immediately start ringing. _This is what we get for not buying that phone with caller ID. _The phone rang and Seth immediately picked up.

"Hello?" Seth asked.

"Hey Seth. Wassup?" Seth didn't answer at first, surprised that Jacob was calling him on the phone.

"Jake? Nothin much. I was just talkin to Quil."

"Oh sorry man, if you wanted to you can call him back or-"

"No no, it's cool. We don't get much time to hear from you as it is. Quil can wait." Seth said assuredly. Jacob chuckled.

"If you say so, hey maybe we can three-way or something." Jacob suggested. Seth agreed.

"You'll have to do it though, my phone's crap." Seth waited for a few seconds while Jacob dialed Quil's house. It was only a few more seconds before Quil's voice chimed into the conversation again.

"Seth?"

"Hey Quil." Seth said at the same time that Jacob said, "Wassup Quil?"

"Hey…guys," silence fell over the line. "So Jake did Seth tell you what Leah did to him?" Quil asked, amusement in his voice. Seth groaned in annoyance. Jacob confirmed that he had not.

"If you like the story so much you tell it." Seth whined to Quil who quickly obliged.

"Leah got back to their house about an hour ago after spending like 3 hours somewhere-"

"Wait Leah went out in this weather?" Jacob asked concerned.

"Yeah, I guess water doesn't bother her." Seth answered. Quil continued the story.

"Anyways, she got back, started flippin out on him, and knocked him upside the head!" Quil burst out into laughter. Jacob didn't get it.

"Ok…doesn't she do that to him like everyday?"

"Hey!" Seth screeched causing Quil to laugh some more although no one else was joining.

"That's not the best part Jake… he's still feeling the pain!" It only took a moment for the words to settle in Jacob's mind before he guffawed loudly.

"Are you serious?" Jacob managed to get out between breaths, "Dude I've broken my foot and it only took like a half hour to heal! She must've hit you _hard_!" Jacob exaggerated the last word. Quil was nearly suffocating by this point from laughter.

"He probably has brain damage!" Quil added as they erupted into even more laughs.

"Yeah yeah laugh all you want. I'm sick of getting all this ice, my head has melted through like two ice trays worth already." Seth admitted. The other ends of the line were filled with gasps as both were suffering from silent intense laughter.

"Oh…my…god…my sides…hurt!" Quil was probably doubled over.

"I know…what ...you mean!" Jacob panted out. It wasn't until Seth heard a loud thud come from one end of the line that he joined in the laughter realizing that Jacob had just fallen to the floor in a fit of giggles. _This is ridiculous…they must both be really sleepy._

"You guys seriously need to get out more." Seth said chuckling as well.

"Says the soon to be teen pops with baby mama drama!" Quil managed to get out before collapsing himself from laughter.

"That's coming from the two pedos." Seth countered. Surprisingly the other two were already too far gone in their slap happy laughter to take offense.

"Dude we're incomplete without our third Musketeer Brady!" Jacob joked although Seth couldn't help the growl that built in his throat at the reminder.

"Speaking of… where are your two little girls?" Seth asked genuinely curious as to how he managed to hold on to his two friends so long.

"Claire's at home this week." Quil said quickly.

"Ness is on a _stroll_ with Nahuel." Jacob said a little resentful.

"Nahuel?" Quil asked.

"Yeah he came to visit again. He was just here a few months ago. Alice saw that he wasn't getting in til tonight so Ness slept all day so she could play with him when he arrived." Jacob explained.

"Are you at your house then?" Seth asked curiously.

"Nope. At the Cullens still. I was getting a little bored with wrestling Emmett and playing 'Name that Unnatural Emotion' with Jasper."

"I thought you loved that game?" Quil asked. Jacob scoffed.

"Yeah until he screwed up Rosalie enough to make her think that I was a newborn baby."

"Aww that's kinda cruel… but I bet it was immensely funny!" Seth said.

"Immensely? Seriously Seth, I'm gonna need you to stop hanging around all those girls in that book club of yours, they're messin with your vocab." Quil stated.

"Ditto." Jacob added.

"I'm not in a book club-" Seth started to protest.

"Yeah sure whatever. Listen dudes, I'm gonna hit the hay because I'm so out of it right now, my microwave is starting to look like Elmo's face." Jacob laughed before he and Seth said their goodbyes to Quil.

"So why exactly did Leah freak out on you?" Jacob asked, having regained his composure.

"I'm not sure but I think it has something to do with Sam." Seth admitted after a pause.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, the rain washed most of the smell out but I distinctly smelled Sam on her."

"She probably went to visit Leo." Jacob offered. Seth wasn't convinced.

"Maybe…" Seth mumbled.

"You think there's something more to it?" Jacob asked curious as to why Seth was thinking so much on this.

"She…"Seth stopped not sure if he wanted to oust his sister's rainstorm escapades before he was sure of them himself. "She seemed, happier somehow when she came back."

"Leah, happy?" Jacob asked. Seth didn't miss the building excitement in the other's voice.

"Well maybe more along the lines of contentment. I'm not sure but she was smiling when she came through the door, even when she hit me and it felt like a Mack truck just rammed my head, she was…_jovial_ about it." Seth said in wonder.

"Dude," Jacob said after a few seconds of weird silence, " I never thought I'd say this in a million years but listen to Quil and quit that book club. Jovial? Really? "

"I'm not in a freakin book club!" Seth all but yelled.

"Whatever dude. ..jovial," he chuckled," Hey I'll see ya later, Esme just made some Red Velvet cake."

"Yeah bye." Seth hung up just after hearing Esme call Jacob to the kitchen. Feeling a little jealous of Jacob's dessert, Seth decided to raid his own frig for sweets. _Apples…celery…three day old meatloaf. _He gave up on the frig and opened the freezer. _Ben and Jerry's…yum! _Just as he reached for it, he noticed the pint was labeled. _Leah. _He shrugged after reading her name, popped the top off and ate. _I'll just get her some more later…besides she owes me for doing semi permanent damage to my head.

* * *

_

"I can't believe you." Tamyra stated.

"I can't even talk to you." Leah said before attempting to stomp away from her brother and his imprint. She stayed a good ten paces in front of them on their trek to the Cullen's house. It was only sprinkling outside so they decided not to take the car.

"She trusted you." Tamyra said defending Leah, "You knew she has been on a Peanut Butter ice cream kick all week!" She added. Seth just hung his head in shame. Apparently the pint ice cream he'd swiped the night before was meant to be Leah's breakfast. He had given up a mile back trying to defend himself against the two pregnant girls. When the mansion came into view Seth nearly cried out in joy. As they stepped through the front doors, the two girls were still nagging him. Edward raised an eyebrow curiously towards his young wolf friend.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

_I'm never eating a pregnant woman's food ever again. _Seth replied mentally. Edward smirked. Esme had apparently caught some of what the girls were saying and immediately tried to console Leah.

"Sweetie, I can fix you some Peanut Butter ice cream if you like. I'll even make the peanut butter cups myself." Esme said smiling. Seth noticed the gleam in Leah's eyes but knew his sister would still attempt to turn down the mother vampire.

"No thanks Esme, it's not a problem."

"I would love to make it for you though." Esme insisted. Seth knew Leah was about to cave. Jacob only sealed the deal when he ran in from the kitchen, blubbering something with food bits falling out of his mouth.

"Dis Wed Welvet cake is da bess!" Everyone gave him strange stares as he swallowed the last bits. "Seriously Lee, Esme can throw down when it comes to dessert! She made a red velvet cake last night" He smacked his lips for affect, "I nearly spit it out 'cause I didn't think my mouth was worthy to taste something so delicious." Jacob finished.

"Wow…and there's the epitome of glutton right there." Leah said, a few chuckled including Seth. She turned back to Esme. "If it's not too much trouble-" Leah didn't need to finish because Esme was already back in the kitchen.

"When are the other guys coming Jake?" Seth asked his alpha once the girls settled themselves down in the living room.

"Quil and Brady called a little after you guys did and said they were headed up here. Collin is coming with the LaPush pack." Seth raised an eyebrow in question at that. Jacob noticed. "Yeah I thought the same thing. I guess it makes sense though, he only felt comfortable here with you guys, and now both of you are… pretty distracted." Jacob stated. Seth caught on.

"I know that, but I don't think Brady realizes it." Jacob nodded his head at Seth's statement.

"Yeah, but I guess you can't force loyalty." Seth couldn't argue with that. "So did you…you know find out what was going on with your sis?" Jacob whispered even too low for Leah to hear in the other room. Seth shook his head.

"Nope but I know something's up because even when she found out I ate her ice cream, she was nowhere near as mad as she could be. Dude she didn't even hit me again!" Seth exclaimed. Jacob whistled in surprise. "I don't know what got into her."

"Or who." Jacob suggested. Seth punched him on the arm just as Quil and Brady could be heard entering the house. "I'm just sayin man, what else could it be?" Seth didn't answer Jacob, royally disgusted with his Alpha's insinuations.

"Guys it's already pouring outside and it's only going to get worse as the day goes on." Quil said once he caught sight of Jacob. "Are you sure this is good training weather?"

"Man up Quil!" Jacob said as he moved towards his friend to smack him on the back. "All weather's good training weather 'cause we don't know what the weather's gonna be like on the day of the battle." Leah joined them to throw in her two cents.

"Yeah Quil that's right. Besides the rain'll evaporate from your skin." Leah added her own smack on Quil's other shoulder. He rubbed it.

"Dang, Leah. That mess really hurt!" Quil whined.

"You're tellin me." Seth added. "My head didn't stop throbbing til sometime during the night." Seth started rubbing his sore spot for affect.

"Interesting assumption Tamyra." Edward's voice chimed in as he too entered the area outside the kitchen. Everyone waited for Tamyra to verbalize the thoughts that the mind reader had just picked out. Said vampire decided to answer for her. "She believes that Leah's somehow gaining extra strength from her pregnancy. Probably as a safety measure or defense mechanism."

"How's that?" Jacob asked finding the information intriguing.

"It would be no different from a situation in which a person after losing one of their senses, the others are strengthened. Leah, for what she lacked in strength as a wolf, she made up in speed. The pregnancy slows her down understandably, but in return she is given extra strength." Edward explained. Emmett seemed to appear out of nowhere, eyes bugging with excitement. Before he could say anything Edward cut him off. "Don't even think about it-"

"Too late!" He said in the same manner as that of an impulsive five year old.

"Leah is in no state to wrestle you." Emmett's grin fell completely.

"Aww c'mon you guys never let me have any fun." In childlike manner he stomped off assumingly back to where he came from to throw his tantrum.

"What about Myra? Does she have extra strength?" Brady asked curiously.

"Not that I've noticed." She answered truthfully. Brady seemed a little disappointed.

"How is that fair? She needs the perks just as much." Seth knew the boy's imprinting was causing him to be so defensive about the matter.

"That's okay, she doesn't need it, she has me to protect her." Seth said earning him a few chuckles from Jacob and Quil. He glared at them to no avail. Brady smirked.

"Like I said, she needs the perks too." Seth went to hit Brady but the other boy dodged him. Quil sniffed.

"Hey guys, the other pack is here."

* * *

A/N: *whistles innocently* Timeline:7 days before the 3 month mark battle mark/2month pregnancy mark


	15. Chapter 14

The week passed while Leah remained in some trance of endless thought. She could tell by the looks her pack was giving her, especially Seth's, that they knew something was up with her. Tamyra's heads up just solidified the fact that in a matter of days she had changed drastically and everyone was picking up on it.

_They think you're happy. _Tamyra had told her mentally.

_Am I? _She realized that starting to smooth things over with Sam, had caused a large weight to be lifted off her shoulders, and she had to admit that before his gigantic faux pas, the make out session had been really nice. But could she be really _truly_ happy always being Sam's second choice. The one he would _settle_ for. She already knew the answer to that. She had to admit that the loving attention he'd been giving to her for the days since that night they talked was nice. She felt lighter, more feminine-

"It's like I have my old big sis back." Seth had said to her during one of their training breaks when he caught her laughing and chatting with the Cullen girls. _Then why does this feel so superficial…so temporary? _Leah was confused. She wanted to welcome the change, the chance to be who she once was. To have a chance to go back to when she was Sam's and Sam was hers. When her greatest fear was that they might have to buy the yellow house when they got married instead of the blue one. When every guy was jealous of Sam because she only had eyes for him. _That was a little conceited…but I was beautiful. _

_What makes you think that detail has changed? _Tamyra threw in her opinion before making a zipper motion over her mouth indicating the slip wouldn't happen again.

_The problem's not with your mouth. _Leah replied. Tamyra stuck out her tongue before exiting the Cullen mansion to sit on the front porch. Leah returned to her thoughts. _I've wanted this for so long, why can't I just accept it happily? _She knew she couldn't accept it because it wasn't what she really wanted, not exactly anyway.

"_You have to know that it would never be the same as before." _She'd said that to him, knowing it was the truth but hoping that it wasn't. It felt like a reversion, like a relapse. The old Leah was superficial, the old Leah wasn't pregnant. The old Leah was human, a human that was in love with a human Sam who didn't have eyes for Emily, who didn't run a pack of teenage wolves. Or maybe the old Leah and the present Leah was the same person in different worlds. Worlds that could not coexist. _Had I really been the one who changed? Or had everyone and everything around me did that and I just didn't fit in? _Leah's confusion wasn't helped by the fact that the source of said confusion had been running around all week in the rain with nothing but cut off shorts and a slight smile on his face. _I know that my hormones still respond the way they used to. _

"Why the long face mutt?" Rosalie said playfully bringing Leah out of her thoughts. Leah turned to see the blond standing next to her as they both peered out the window, rain streaking down the glass.

"No reason." Rosalie looked at her questioningly. Leah sighed. "Everything's weird." The vampire laughed at the wolf's choice of words.

"Since when has anything been normal?" Leah foolishly allowed herself to think back to those early years. "You weren't meant for normal since the day you were conceived. Sure you had those first 18 or 19 years to be human but when you think about it, you were always destined to be a wolf. That life was never meant to last." Leah never pegged Rosalie to be the mind reader of the family. "It was simply a prelude to what you always have been and always will be." Rosalie sighed and suddenly Leah realized that they weren't just talking about her anymore.

"That doesn't mean I don't miss it." Rosalie didn't reply. She ran a hand through her hair.

"You're right, it doesn't." She took a needless breath. "Just think about that baby though. Your child is never even going to know what that is like. He or she is going to be born into this mess immediately. No prelude. Just full on climax. You should be at least thankful that you got the chance to experience real humanity." Rosalie's abrupt stop signaled to Leah that she had finished her speech.

"Since when are you so philosophical and understanding?" Rosalie smirked although Leah only caught a glimpse of it since they weren't facing each other.

"Let's just say I had some issues to come to terms with on my own." It was Leah's turn to raise the questioning brow. "So I may have been hugely jealous of you when you got pregnant but then I thought about what happened for you to end up like that then I started thinking about Ness and your baby and Tamyra's baby and I thought, man those kids are never gonna know what it's like to be human, to grow up in a human world."

"They won't know it so they won't miss it." Rosalie chuckled darkly.

"Leah." The vampire said finally causing the wolf to look at her. "There's one thing that ties every other person around them together. We have all at one point or another experienced humanity. They'll know they're missing something. Renesmee already realizes it. That's probably why she's so excited about those babies." Leah half smiled as she glanced and saw the half vampire running around in the mud, with Jacob chasing after her. "And what'll happen if you decide to stop going wolf. You'll be human again and your kid'll have to watch you grow older and eventually die. Who knows if the kid will even know how to respond to that event having grown up in an abnormal world where most of his or hers confidantes live forever." Rosalie's words were increasing in speed. Leah wasn't quite sure where the vampire was going with this but she did know that she didn't want to hear anymore woes about her unborn child.

"Rose I think that's enough." Leah said stopping the vampire in mid sentence. "I can barely think about one month from now without being overwhelmed, let alone years. I'd rather just live in the here and now and take it one day at a time." Leah sighed while Rosalie shrugged.

"Guess you have your answer about how to deal with this Sam thing too." Rosalie turned to leave Leah's side. Leah grabbed her wrist roughly although it didn't bother the now smirking vampire.

"You only said all that junk to get me to figure out my other concern." Leah said as more of a statement than a question.

"It wasn't the only reason. I meant what I said. I just feel like standing at this window contemplating all the complexities of life and worrying about that boy out there isn't good for you in the long run. You need to just live in the moment sometimes."

"What is that reverse psychology?" Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"I don't want you turning into some 'woe is me' whining Barbie like Bella used to be. If Sam just wants to knock boots with you for a little while and you're okay with it, do it. Just don't put too much into it and you'll be fine."

"What if that changes? What if he wants more to be put into it?"

"The question is, do you want to put more into it? Do you really think you'd be willing to put your heart on the line again for the same person who crushed it before?" Leah took the question to be rhetorical. She'd remembered a similar conversation she'd had months earlier with the same vampire, albeit she wasn't very cordial then. Leah continued watching the pack through the window. They'd moved on from training to tackling each other in the mud, and Leah couldn't help the grin that graced her face when she noticed Sam getting muddy with the rest of them.

_Are you going to finally come join me in the lovely rain? _Leah feigned agitation with the other girl shape shifter as she bombarded her mind again. Leah consented and joined her on the porch. She scanned the pack mob and furrowed her brow when she found someone missing.

"Tamyra where's your elder sibling?" Tamyra shrugged then took a sip of her lemonade that Leah hadn't noticed before.

"He's with the guy vamps minus Emmett." Leah almost missed what Tamyra had said focused solely on the delicious drink the other girl was holding. She subconsciously licked her lips. "You know, there's some more lemonade in the kitchen." Leah barely heard her as her mind started to wander at the mention of lemons.

"You want to know what sounds good right now?" Leah asked her. Tamyra shook her head slowly, still gripping her cup. "A warm slice of lemon pound cake," Leah stood up dramatically." With a scoop of vanilla ice cream." She added as an afterthought making Tamyra moan in agreement.

"I think we should go raid the kitchen." The two got up somewhat quickly considering their sizes and barged back into the house.

* * *

A/N: I havent updated in a while. I went to see Transformers at a midnight viewing and they showed the New Moon trailer and I was this close to squealing like a lil girl when they showed Jacob...needless to say my older sister was very embarassed...


	16. Chapter 15

"Emmett I bet I can get a yard farther than you!" Seth heard Solomon yell to the vampire.

"In your dreams pup!" Emmett antagonized him. It made Solomon more determined. Seth watched as the two lined up next to each other to get their running starts. The pack had decided to have mud sliding races. The winner: whoever slid the farthest on their stomach. So far Emmett had the record followed by Solomon's close second. The wolves lined up on either side of the already muddy path that served as the racing lane as Emmett and Solomon took their place at the starting line. Collin ran to the end of the mud lane to call them off.

"Ready…Set…Go!" Emmett shot off, considerably quicker than Solomon, surprisingly the boy was able to close the gap considerably before both launched into the air and yelled all the way down the mud. No one seemed to mind getting splattered with the wet dirt. Seth cheered with his brothers as Emmett and Solomon slowed to a stop at the same distance.

"A tie? What kinda crap is that Sol? You were supposed to beat him!" Collin playfully jeered him. Solomon just shrugged his shoulders while smiling.

"He has a slow reaction time." Seth almost jumped at the voice so close to his ear.

"Tamyra, you scared me half to death!" Tamyra scoffed.

"Well I'll try not to do it again, otherwise you'll be in bad shape." Seth nodded. Tamyra gave him a look indicating he'd missed something. "Anyway, your boy Solomon would be pretty fast if he could get going quicker." Seth agreed. He'd noticed that the boy had trouble reigning in his momentum quickly at the start of the race.

"At least he makes up for it once he does get going. He almost caught up to Emmett by the time they jumped." Tamyra half shrugged.

"That makes him a good long distance runner but when the battle comes we need sprinters. This isn't a cross country meet." Seth wanted to ask his imprint what was bothering her but he didn't know if he wanted to be subject to one of her rare mood swings. Hers weren't as numerous as his sister's but when they did happen, he usually found himself cowering in a corner somewhere.

"You okay?" He asked timidly, hoping the gruffness in her voice had dissipated.

"Yeah," she relaxed her shoulders, "I've just been feeling uneasy about today…and because Leah just got me to wanting some lemon pound cake, then wouldn't let me help make it." She folded her arms across her chest, pouting. Seth knew better then to let his chuckle escape at the sight. He focused on the first part of her statement.

"You think something's going to happen today?" Seth asked as he glanced around at his brothers who had moved on from mud sliding to mud wrestling.

"I just have a feeling…hopefully I haven't acquired some weird pregnancy ESP or something." She added with a fake laugh. Seth knew that laugh. _She's hiding something. _

"Hey Sam, you too old to play in the mud?" One of the younger wolves yelled to Sam just as he pinned his friend to ground. Sam smirked.

"Sam's not too old! He's just afraid he'll hurt you little girls!" Paul yelled while he was helping Jared to his feet after having won their match. The young boy scowled at Paul, who took a menacing few steps toward the boy causing him to quickly scamper away in fear. Sam decided to speak up for himself.

"I used to wrestle in high school before I…phased." This statement sparked a few of the guys conversations about what sports they would have played in high school if they didn't have their unfair advantages.

"What's going on?" Seth jumped again at the second very close voice.

"Jesus!" he breathed.

"Great Tre, you just killed Seth." Tamyra said while putting on a fake pouting face. "How'd the talk with the vampire guys go?"

"It went okay. We've come to some very interesting conclusions." He said not taking his eyes from the scene of the muddy wolves. He pointed in their direction to remind Tamyra of his earlier question.

"Oh, they're just mud wrestling and talking about how Sam won't wrestle anyone cause he's too good." Tre scoffed. Tamyra got a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Maybe you should go and show him how it's done." She said innocently. Seth glanced at her but before he could say anything he could almost feel the testosterone meter peak in his imprint's brother. _Complete with the puffed out chest. _

"So Sam, I hear you used to wrestle." Tre called, his voice warranting silence from the others gathered. Sam gave a simple motion as if saying 'Yeah, so what?' Tre continued. "I used to do a bit of that myself in my day." _In my day? How old is this guy…60? _Everyone's eyes sparked at the unspoken challenge.

"Did you win any titles?" Paul asked, officially serving as Sam's spokesman. "Cause Sam here was the champ in LaPush and Forks." Paul folded his arms across his chest. Seth could tell that Tre was trying hard to not let his smile show.

"Yeah, well I don't know about all that but-" Tre began before he was cut off.

"You're looking at a state champ right here." Seth sucked in his lips when Tamyra started bragging on her brother's behalf. She moved closer to Paul as they seemed to have a verbal battle of their own over who was better. Everyone else just watched in response hoping for a battle between the two.

"Well then Tamyra, why don't you just show us how much you little kittens can bring?" Paul said roughly. Tamyra wasn't fazed.

"You better hope you're not just all bark and no bite, puppy!" She said back earning a chorus of 'Oohs' and 'Uh-ohs'. _Instigators. _Seth thought although he was slightly excited to see them battle it out. Tamyra turned to return to Seth's side while Paul went to pat Sam on the back. The two fighters moved towards the center of a circle that had formed by the onlookers. Jacob wrenched himself from Renesmee to mediate the fight.

"Wha ah mish?" Seth jumped for the third time today. _What is with these people being able to sneak up on me? _Leah was munching on a slice of cake. Tamyra was about to explain but once she saw the food in Leah's hand, her jaw dropped. Leah noticed and rolled her eyes. "There's some more up at the house." Tamyra smiled and turned to go but Seth reached out to grab her wrist.

"Aren't you gonna wait and watch the fight?" Seth asked her. She looked at his restricting hand then her glaze slowly shifted towards his eyes. She gave him an incredulous look before her eyes darkened and she started to hiss venomously. Seth looked shocked.

"Lil bro, haven't you learned to never get between a pregnant woman and her food?" Leah asked as she swallowed her last piece of cake. Seth quickly released Tamyra's arm. Her smile returned as she pranced off towards the house. "So who's fightin?"

"Sam and Tre." Seth asked after snapping back to reality.

"What?!" Leah screeched as she went to push through the mass of male bodies to get a better look of the scene.

* * *

Leah kicked and pushed her way through the wolves to get closer to the fight. Sam and Tre were already facing each other, trying to look as manly as possible. Jacob was standing between them saying the rules.

"Okay, no biting or any foul play like that. Absolutely no phasing. I want this to be a clean fight." Both of the challenger's heads looked down to the muddy ground. "You know what I mean." Jacob said annoyed. They both smirked before realizing what they did and returned to glaring at each other. "Don't make me have to jump in here and stop you myself." They both nodded. Leah knew that they'd follow Jacob's rules considering he was the largest wolf, no had a chance to really challenge him if he had to break them up. Jacob stepped back to the inner part of the "ring". He gave a signal and they both lunged for each other.

A few of the guys started cheering. After a momentary stalemate, Sam gained the upper hand. He had Tre folded over his knee. Just when it looked like Sam could pin him, Tre kicked his legs over Sam's back, freeing his upper body from the other's hold, and reversing the positions. Sam now laid face first in the mud while Tre was sprawled across his back. Sam took advantage of the slick mud and flipped himself onto his back, to be able to push Tre off of him. Both were quickly back on their feet, causing a few of the wolves to whoop. Leah hadn't realized how much it was raining until Tre went to wipe it from his eyes. His short hair glistened from the wetness, she noticed that Sam's cropped hair was now matted to his head. They both lunged again, and were caught in a hand lock. The mud should have made it harder to brace them, and made it easier to tell who was losing the battle of strength, but they were both relatively still in their stances, clenching their teeth to match their vise grips. The fact that Tre was as strong as Sam, both unnerved and calmed her. She looked to Sam's face and saw his mouth move slightly. It was then that she realized they were speaking to each other. She tried to enhance her hearing but they were talking too lowly for her to pick up much. She'd only picked up "don't deserve…tool…hurt her," from Tre and "no better…danger…unstable" from Sam. It didn't make sense. Before she could pick out any more words, Tre loosened his grip, causing Sam to stumble forward, then ducked and rolled into the other man's legs, causing him to bowl over completely. Tre turned to pounce on him, but Sam had braced his fall with his hands and had already rolled away from him. Although the move had been relatively graceful, she noticed that Tre had more sleek movements while Sam's were more power. _It's like watching Ali and Foreman…I hope Foreman wins. _Sam lunged again, but Tre bounced out of the way. Sam tried the move again, this time catching Tre's shoulder, and bringing the other down to the ground. The force of both their bodies sent mud flying onto a few of the observing wolves. No one minded, since the rain quickly washed it off them. Tre was on his back being pinned by only one of Sam's arms, it didn't take him long to kick himself over Sam's back, bringing the arm along.

"Ahh." Sam cried out at his arm being wrenched behind him. Leah found herself about to yell at Tre for hurting Sam, but Sam quickly retaliated by swinging a leg up and kicking the other man in the back. Tre released his grip and stumbled away to rub the sore spot. Sam took the time to get back to his feet.

"Is that even legal?" Leah heard Brady whisper from somewhere near her. No one answered him. Sam lunged again, but Tre had learned to tuck in all his body parts as he dodged and rolled away. Sam recovered quickly, throwing himself for the other man's lower body. Tre's reflexes were quick. He threw himself straight up into the air. Leah slowed the scene down in her mind. Sam 's arms were outstretched hoping to grab for Tre's legs but they were already out of reach, directly above him, as Tre had thrown himself with enough force to end up completely horizontal in the air, mimicking Sam's current position as he flew under his opponent. _It looks like they're both flying. _Leah allowed the thought to cross her mind as the scene sped up again. The loud sounds of the pack erupted when both landed. Leah could see the frustration on Sam's face. He quickly glanced at her before rising from his crouched position, just as Tre went on the offensive. His pounce was fast. He smacked dead on into Sam's body, the sound akin to boulders striking together, causing them both to topple. Leah saw something flash in Sam's eyes, as he roughly kicked Tre off of him. He rounded him before Tre could regain his bearings and wrapped his arm around Tre's neck. His hand clenched at the short hairs on his opponent's head, as he held him in strangling head lock. Tre's arms shot up to try and pry his unseen opponent's arms away. Leah could tell the position was uncomfortable considering, Sam now had Tre's legs restrained with one of his own, and he was bending his neck backwards. Tre's body was trembling with the need to free himself from the restriction. Tre tried to elbow Sam's ribcage, but Sam tucked away his torso so that it was out of reach. How he ever learned how to pin someone while standing up, Leah would never know. The shock didn't last long though as something completely unexpected happened.

_Did he just howl? _It must have been the equivalent to crying 'uncle' because Sam immediately threw Tre to the ground after he let the sound escape his lips. He hit the ground panting heavily. Leah glanced and saw Jacob's wide eyes. She ignored the snickers coming from the LaPuch pack and glanced around noticing that the only one's affected by the phenomenom was her pack members. Jacob regained his composure.

"Dude…did you seriously howl? Like a wolf howl?" Tre slowed his breathing looking embarrassed and opened his mouth to answer but Paul beat him to it.

"He's done it before. He did it once while he was out in the woods. A bunch of us thought it was a distress call. We came running but realized that no one on patrol had sound the alarm." Paul said earning a bunch of laughs from his pack mates. "We thought it was a real wolf until we found him, freaking out about it." Leah couldn't believe what she had heard. She wasn't sure if she should laugh in his face or be concerned or the implications of his identity crisis. _Why would I be concerned? _Leah shook her head. The rain let up considerably. The laughs died down and Jacob called everyone to attention.

"I think that's enough fun for one day. We should get back to training." There were a few grumbles before Quil spoke up.

"Wait," he said, causing everyone to still as he sniffed the air questioningly. "I smell trouble." He said seriously.

"It was just raining. How can you pick up any scents?" Collin asked unbelieving. Quil ignored him and continued sniffing. Seth joined in. Soon everyone was sniffing, unable to find what it was. Tre rose to his feet and took one deep whiff just as Quil started nearing the trees.

"He's right." Tre said, causing everyone to stop moving again. "There." He turned and pointed to a specific area of forest far away from where they were currently standing. Quil was already headed in that direction. He sniffed again and his eyes went wide.

"It's-"

"Panther." Tre said. It only took second for the words to settle in everyone's mind as they lined up in their respective pack formations.

"What's happening?" Leah hadn't noticed when Tamyra had joined her outside again. Leah turned to tell her but was cut off by Seth approaching them.

"You two need to get inside. There could be trouble." He said vaguely.

_Quil and Tre caught some panther scents._ Leah thought quickly to the other girl. Her eyes bugged in realization. "We're not going anywhere until you're sure there's trouble." Leah replied. Tamyra nodded her head in agreement. Seth started to protest when Tre turned around with a solemn look on his face.

"It's Clarice."

* * *

A/N: uh oh...


	17. Chapter 16

The name rang through Leah's ears for a moment before recognition slapped her in the face.

"Clarice…as in enemy-panther-pack-beta-female Clarice?" Leah asked. Tre nodded. Leah found her mind suddenly filled with anger and panic. She wasn't sure which belonged to her and which feelings belonged to the girl standing next to her. She stole a glance at Tamyra, and watched as the girl went from a look of shock to one of rage. Her wide eyes narrowed as their lids slowly lowered themselves to an appropriate death glare level. Once the panic started to dissipate and the anger started to increase a hundredfold, Leah knew which one them was fuming. Leah decided to test the waters. _Myra? _Tamyra ignored her so Leah took the liberty to shuffle through the other girl's thoughts. They were incoherent.

"Seth, get the girls inside." Tre said with a slight tone of authority. Leah wanted to hit herself when she almost obeyed the command.

"We're not going anywhere."

"Leah-" Jacob began before Leah cut him off.

"I'm not going anywhere. Not until I see what's happening and I know I can't trust you boys to relay anything to me." Jacob's change in posture indicated that he had already caved. "Send Tamyra inside, both of us don't need to be out here." Seth followed Leah's glance towards his imprint, but noticing how she was still in her angry stance, he decided not to push her. Leah gave a silent cheer after Seth backed down. She turned to see Tre still staring at her, waiting for her to retreat. "I'm not going anywhere, so you can wipe that 'I'm the boss' look off your face!"

"You're pregnant."He said simply.

"And?" Leah retorted.

"And you're in no condition to defend yourself if this comes to a fight! You may be strong but you're not as fast." He added.

"If I see a fight coming I have enough sense to not wait until the last moment before I ditch." Tre's arms crossed his chest.

"Even if you have that type of foresight, shouldn't you be considering that the precious cargo you're carrying is going to weigh you down even if you don't care about it." Leah flinched. She had to admit that the comment about her not caring for the child stung. No one had verbalized the accusation since she'd decided to keep the baby. She pushed the old feelings back before they could resurface.

"I care about my kid you jerk! Just do your stupid alpha job and tell your _family _that the battle isn't for another 3 months." Leah's retaliation was about to crescendo before she felt someone tap her.

"Lee-Lee we all just want you to be safe." Sam's voice was soft yet firm. Leah was nearly about to consent when three figures emerged from the trees. _Oh well I'm here now, might as well enjoy the show. _Tamyra finally moved to take her place by Leah's side, while Tre stood awkwardly next to his pack. Jacob took his place at point so that Leah stood in the beta position. The others filed in along with Embry's pack. Leah took in the three approaching figures. Although she'd only seen the girl a few times, Leah could make out Clarice in the front, with two other people walking slightly behind her and to either side. She approached cautiously. _And with good sense. _Leah could only imagine how intimidating it must be to approach this gigantic force of wolves with a miniscule amount of backup. Leah immediately recognized the signature attires of the panthers. She hadn't seen it in awhile since she and Tamyra had taken to wearing as many layers as possible and Tre had begun mimicking the wolf attire. Clarice held up both hands once she got within hearing range.

"I'm not here for confrontation." She said in a professional voice. When she and her entourage stopped moving, she lowered her hands. The other two folded their hands in front of them, standing as still as stone. "I've come as a neutral scout." She stopped talking. _Awkward. _Tre tilted his head towards Jacob.

"She's waiting for permission to continue." He whispered to the wolf alpha. Jacob stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Uh…okay continue." Clarice nodded slightly.

"Orson and Veronica have sent me as is appropriate action in time of conflict, to come and confirm that you are still aligned with the conditions of both parties." Jacob scratched his head. "Also to remind you that the first half of the agreed to peace time has passed. If you have any appeals or any type of forfeit, compromise, or mercy pleas…now is the chance for you to make them." She finished quickly. Leah noticed the fidgeting going on in the wolf packs. She'd forgotten how young and education starved some of these kids were. _This is probably going completely over their heads. _

"Dude, what did she just say?" Brady whispered to Collin.

"I don't think she was speaking any English." Collin replied just as unsure.

"Guys she just asked us if we wanted to surrender." Quil explained to the younger boys.

"Why would we surrender? We haven't even fought them yet?" Brady asked.

"Dude it's like 3 against a hundred! Shouldn't we be asking her that?" Collin added.

"I don't know. I guess it's like some type of council or something to see if we changed our minds. You know, like a cease-fire but before the fire part." Quil continued to explain.

"Cease-fire? As in fire weapons?" Collin asked.

"Dude we don't have weapons!" Brady panicked. Leah didn't hear Quil's response before she took a hesitant step towards Tre.

"Perhaps you should help Jake with the logistics. These boys aren't the sharpest in the tool shed." Tre walked towards the fumbling Jacob and uncertain Embry who had walked to each other to decipher what the enemy woman had just said. Sam eventually joined them as well at Embry's request. They spoke softly for a few moments.

"The conditions stay the same. We're not giving up the fight that _you_ started." Jacob said sternly. Clarice nodded in understanding.

"So it stands…the battle between my people and your people will proceed as agreed in three months time?" The alphas all nodded in response. Clarice whispered something quickly to the two behind her. She looked back to the three packs and smiled. "Since that is the case, I have a proposition for you."

* * *

This caught everyone off guard. Seth looked around along with everyone else questioningly when Clarice said her last statement. She raised her hand to calm everyone again. _Not that we were really calm to begin with considering you marched unannounced onto our turf._

"Allow me to explain. I love my pack but I cannot stand my colleagues in leadership. They are corrupt and evil and I can't fathom being allied with them anymore. My loyalty to Veronica is forced. I know that she is hoping for my death in this battle as she has already started looking for my replacement. She thinks that I don't know but I do. I have my own ears in the pack. This is Jay," She pointed to the male on her right side. He had a build similar to Tre but he was slightly shorter. "And this is Olive." She pointed to the female on her left. Seth noticed that the girl was exceptionally smaller than both Tamyra and Clarice although she was still toned. "They are my two closest confidantes. We have begun a sect in the pack. It consists of people that feel the same about the current leadership set as we do. I separate myself solely for the fact that I believe that leaders should be diplomatic and strong. Not deceitful and dictatorial. I've strived to be the former." Her speech was interrupted.

"We don't have time for an interview Rice. Just tell us what you want." Seth was shocked to hear the venomous words escape his imprint's mouth. He turned to see her trying to remain composed. Clarice was evidently used to this sort of treatment as she lowered her head and continued, her volume decreasing considerably.

"It is the alpha-beta bond that keeps me from blatant treachery so I need your help. I can guarantee that the pack will follow my command if you dispose of the infidels."

"What exactly are you saying by infidels?" Clarice breathed in as if the explanation was taking a great deal out of her.

"The panther pack will give an immediate surrender if you kill Orson, Veronica, and Damien." Seth expected a dramatic group gasp to follow that statement. He looked around noticing everyone having a shifty eyes moment.

"Well…that's quite an announcement." Jacob said in slight disbelief.

"I'm trying to look at the greater scheme of things. Let's be frank, your three packs against ours, gives you the upper hand in strength but we still have greater numbers and experience. It'll be a bloody battle if it's to the death. I don't think the shape shifting world could stand to lose so many young souls. I would rather we got to the root of the problem, destroy it quickly and save as many lives as we can. I don't want either of our people to lose their lives but I'm not naïve, I know there must be some sacrifices." The passion in Clarice's voice made Seth want to believe her.

"How can we trust you?" Jacob asked, confident in his ability to speak for the group. Clarice took a breath before responding.

"May I ask you something Jacob Black?"

"You just-"Jacob stopped himself before he could finish the sarcastic remark. "Yes."

"Do you even know why we're fighting?" Seth scrunched hi eyebrows. _Come to think of it…I don't really remember. Except for the fact they nearly killed my imprint and her brother…oh and they shot Embry with an arrow. _

"Besides the fact that since your pack arrived, our lives have gone down the drain?" Leah said angrily. Tre flinched at her volume. Clarice looked at Leah and seemed to be really studying her before addressing her.

"I am terribly sorry for all the trouble that our pack has brought to your people."

"Where have I heard that before?" Seth heard Leah mumble. Clarice shot a pitying glance towards Tre before continuing.

"The alphas find your pack to be a threat. We have never come across another pack that was even close to ours in size. We could easily persuade other groups into being our allies. Our numbers were near the high end, so Damien made the suggestion to Orson to coerce you into a fight as to dwindle your numbers. If his idea had gone completely according to plan, we would have attempted to wipe you out that day." Seth heard a few sharp intakes of breath from those around him. "Even though you requested the six months, they had every intention of returning that night and raiding your Reservation. It wasn't until Tamyra and Tre asked to stay that those plans changed. Damien thought it would be interesting to let a wild alpha loose on unsuspecting victims." Seth became concerned when someone's heartbeat spiked.

"What?!" Tamyra said through clenched teeth. Seth was worried that she would grind them to dust any moment.

"They knew that Tre would lose control. They weren't sure of the specific outcomes, but once Damien figured that Leah was the only female shape shifter, they knew she would be his first target. Other ideas were shot around about him being physically destructive, he'd probably turn traitor, he'd be unstable. They thought he'd turn into a real monster. Truthfully I'm surprised Leah is the only female he got pregnant." Both Leah and Tamyra let out angry snarls. Leah was clenching her fists to stop her phase that was threatening to blur her figure.

"You knew about this and you didn't tell us? My brother could have been killed, the least you could have done was give him a warning!" Tamyra started taking steps toward the girl before Tre held her back, he was strangely silent through all of this. Tamyra pulled away from his grasp. "Stop trying to protect her!"

"So is that why they sent you, to see if he'd caused chaos in our camp?" Jacob asked.

"I already knew that he hadn't gone as far as expected." Clarice said as if it were obvious. Clarice took in everyone's confused expressions. She shook her head then turned to Tre. "You haven't told them have you?"

"Told us what?" Leah said still attempting to reign in her own control. Everyone's heads turned to Tre who hadn't said anything in a while.

"You need to learn to trust your pack Terrance. They deserve to know everything even if you think you're protecting them. That's the only way you'll get them to trust you and tell you…" she paused and looked directly at Tamyra, "everything." Seth knew that there was some meaningful glance that had occurred between the two girl panthers and he was dying to know what it meant. The thought that Tre was keeping secrets or withholding information from the packs didn't settle well in Seth's mind. Apparently Leah was sharing the same sentiment.

"What is she talking about?" Leah asked, her gaze flicking back and forth between the sibling panthers. Neither returned her gaze. Tre cleared his throat.

"She's not speaking on anything in particular. Just the fact that we haven't been sharing a mind space like normal packs would." He tried to assure her but his slight fidgeting and intense concentration on the ground must not have sold Leah.

"_Is_ she?" Leah asked stressing the doubt in her voice. Tre glanced at her through his peripheral. Seth stole a glance at his imprint and noticed that her anger had dissipated greatly but had been replaced with another air. _Uncertainty, perhaps? _Seth was brought out of his thoughts by a loud exhale.

"I supposed she is correct. It would only be appropriate for us to sit and discuss the issues as a pack." Tre said evenly.

"Good," Jacob piped in," We should all just get together as pack mates and-" Jacob was cut off when Tre raised his hand.

"No Jacob."Tre began in a respectable yet authoritative voice,"I promise to inform the wolf packs of any pertinent details but I really believe that this needs to be between me and my pack mates, however willing or unwilling they may be."Tre finished and all eyes were on Jacob anticipating his reaction.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say right here in front of everybody." Leah said indignantly. It was then that Seth noticed the distant presence of all of the Cullens watching from outside their mansion. He wondered if they'd been out there the entire time. He received a nod from Edward.

"Leah please," Tre begged breathlessly. "I have rightfully so lost any miniscule amount of trust you may have had in me but we need to establish some sort of communication or cooperation to sort out our issues. " Leah didn't verbally contest him so he continued. "I know that if we don't do something as simple as that, it will hurt us in the long run. If you can't stand to even look at me, how will you ever trust me to guide you into battle?" Tre clasped his hands together and took a hesitant step toward Leah. Her nose flaring was the only visible sign that she was agitated. Even Seth could see the pleading look in Tre's eyes. He could tell his sister was about to cave. Seth just didn't know how many others could see that.

"Tre you're not in my pack so technically I don't have to trust you, which I don't. That being said I respect your need for privacy but I don't trust you going anywhere with those girls alone, and I don't care if one is your sister and the other one is carrying your kid." _Apparently Jacob knew Leah pretty well also. _

"Okay," Tre respectfully agreed," Seth." Seth's head popped up at the sound of his name. "Would you mind running a perimeter around where we will be?" Seth looked to Jacob for confirmation before answering.

"Yeah sure." Seth replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Leah, having heard enough of this prelude decided to start walking towards the forest. Tamyra followed her, which started Tre's feet to moving. Jacob grabbed Seth before he could follow.

"I know you're worried about Myra and Leah but run out far enough so that you can hear if they get in trouble but not that you can hear everything they're saying. I'll at least try to honor some of his need for privacy." Jacob whispered before pulling away and turning to Clarice. "Will you be staying long or were you sent to just deliver those messages and start your job as a double agent?" Clarice revealed a slight smile at Jacob's statement, while the girl next to her, Olive, held up a hand to stifle her giggles.

"We will be leaving soon but I wish to wait for the others to return before I depart." With that Seth bounded after the ragtag pack that had disappeared into the woods. He caught their scents, and realized that Leah was headed for somewhere specific. He followed the scents a few more seconds before realizing that they were headed for Leah's haven.

* * *

A/N: hmmm....I don't really have anything to say but I hope you guys do! :D


	18. Chapter 17

Leah wasn't sure why she'd chosen to bring the two cats out this far in the forest. She did know that she's always felt safe in this dense area of trees and shrubs. She plopped down on a stump while Tamyra walked to lean against a trunk. Tre emerged and quickly scoped the area out. He decided to stand so that both the two girls could see him easily. This brought him more towards the center of the area. It caused Leah to have a quick flashback of the first night she'd fallen asleep here during the storm. _It was in that exact spot. _Leah thought as she glanced at Tre's feet. Soon the only sounds were of wildlife, distant pounding of paws that Leah assumed to be her brother running a perimeter, and the different heart rates of the three gathered. Leah figured she was the only one eager to get some answers so she broke the silence.

"In case you haven't noticed, the vehicle has stopped moving. You can now safely exit and tell me what the frick is going on!" Tamyra let a weak smile show on her face at Leah's sarcasm. Tre started intertwining his fingers. He took a deep breath before beginning.

"Leah, this is all very difficult-"

"You're tellin me." Leah muttered interrupting him.

"Maybe you should just ask me questions and I'll answer them. There's a lot to tell you and if I just start talking I may forget some very important details." Tre admitted. _So this is gonna be my show. _Leah agreed.

"Then let's start from the beginning." Both Tre and Tamyra nodded their heads. "The bonfire. We told you our legends, you told us yours. What were you keeping from us? You had to know your pack was intending on attacking us."

"My-the other pack had a way of doing things. What I told you was all true, I just couldn't tell you everything because one, I knew where my loyalties were, and two I knew that the existence of an undiscovered pack was information that our leaders would want to learn about. The pack was relatively peaceful with other cultures." _Relatively?_

"Just as long as they were small and weren't a potential threat." Leah stated.

"Basically. You must understand, I couldn't give away all my pack's secrets-"

"But we could give you all of ours?" Leah's voice bordered on agitation._ Sam had been right._ Tre instinctively held up his hands in surrender.

"That was wrong I know that now, but the fear of my pack was greater at that time than it was of your pack of wolves."

"So you admit it?" Tamyra's voice drew both their gazes. "That it was fear that kept us with the other pack. Not loyalty. You saw how big they were from the beginning and didn't want to cross them." Tre didn't have an answer for her. He just dropped his gaze. Tamyra scoffed before leaning back against her tree. "Coward." Tre's head shot back up. He looked hurt and angry. Leah saw his fists clench, she started to stand in case she needed to phase quickly and stop Tre. He noticed her actions and shook his head.

"Don't. I'm not going to hurt her." He calmed himself down after a few more moments. Tamyra ignored the two, Leah realized that she was reliving different moments from when they were in the other pack. Leah was about to question the other girl when Tre spoke again." Leah, could you please continue?" He asked quietly.

"Okay…" Leah thought quickly, preferring to save the big questions for last, she skipped ahead. "The day you came back, what was that weird voodoo stuff you did to bring Myra out of her coma?" Tre let a shy smile cross his face before he erased it.

"I didn't think you'd jump straight to that." He murmured. _What? I didn't think it was that tough a question. _ "Someone taught me that. It was an old chant used to connect with the subconscious. The panther pack has used it but it's been around for a while, it can be used as direct communication with the panther within the human. It would be the same as having a conversation with your wolf spirit only you wouldn't hear it as the human." Leah nodded, trying not to show that she was a little freaked by the idea of her and her wolf being two separate identities. "Her cat was pouting actually. I told her that the wolf wouldn't be mean to her anymore." Leah laughed lightly. Tamyra as if on cue, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at the two for teasing her panther.

"So who taught you how to do that?" Leah asked, the laugh not completely out of her voice. Leah didn't notice Tre's light laughter stop immediately.

"Uh…Rice. Clarice taught me." Leah noticed the somber tone in his voice. _I feel like I'm missing some very important detail. _

"When?" Tamyra asked, "Because you didn't know how to do that when we were still in that pack." That caught Leah's attention. It caused Tre to be uncomfortable.

"I…I learned it a few weeks ago. Actually just after I cut both of you out of my mind-"

"Yeah about that. How'd you learn to do _that_?" Tamyra continued her own questioning. Leah vaguely remembered when Tamyra had voiced her concerns over her brother's advancing knowledge.

"Clarice." He said simply. _So there's more to this girl than I thought. _Tamyra scoffed at his answer. Leah wondered if Tamyra had a vendetta against the beta. _Besides the fact that she was the one that cut her wrists when they quit their pack…but she did seem reluctant about doing-_

"I was able to mentally reconnect with her." Tre's voice stopped Leah's mental rambling. It was during that time that we were able to share information and-"

"Wait were you double crossing us?" Leah accused at the same time that Tamyra said "Figures you would go running back to Orson." Tre held up his hands again.

"I only reconnected with her, not the pack, and no, I wasn't double crossing you. It was more of her teaching me things like how to block people mentally and how to heal." He said waving his hand in their direction. She just enjoyed having my company and being able to keep it separate from her pack mind." Tre continued. Leah's mental gears were on overdrive while he was speaking. Her eyes went wide in understanding.

"You lied to me!" Leah roared. It came out louder than she expected. Tre looked at her confused. "You remember that day your pack came and you introduced me to Clarice. I asked you if she was your girl and you said no. You were lying to me!" Leah's ranting bordered on hysterical as everything started making sense. She began agreeing with herself, completely missing Tre's adamant denial.

"That's not true. At _that_ time she was _not_ my girl. I wasn't lying." Tre tried to explain but Leah didn't believe him.

"Fancy choice of words brother, but Leah you're basically right." Tamyra said, taking a few steps away from her tree to draw closer to the other two. "Have I told you about the pack's extensive hierarchy Leah?" Leah shook her head. "Outside of the leadership set you have the regular pack members but we're all assigned a station or level if you will. Just under the leadership set are the first tier members. They're the best of the best, and are usually the ones chosen to be betas. Then you have second then third, all the way down to sixth tier members. The sixth tier members are usually the new additions to the pack and they're the pawns. They're deemed the weakest until they can prove themselves." Leah made a gesture indicating she understood. Tamyra continued. "When we first joined the pack, our whole smaller pack of some of our relatives got placed into the sixth tier. It only took a few months before Clarice took notice of Tre here and they started making googly eyes at each other. It wasn't until they got serious that Tre found out she was a first tier pack member. Veronica had another beta female at the time. They dated for two years without much protest from anyone. That was until we had the run in with the bears."

Leah shifted her position finding the story interesting and wanting to get more comfortable. "The bears had a pack of about ten members. One of the bigger ones we had seen. They were exceptionally strong. Quite possibly stronger than you wolves. The down side, they were slow. Exceptionally slow. Long story short, the alphas felt threatened and decided to sneak attack. Little did we know that the bears had caught wind of the plan. It was a pretty bloody battle, they ended up being massacred but we still had some casualties, mainly from the first wave of fighters. Veronica decided to strangely have her beta lead the first wave of the attack. She died in that battle. We didn't see much of that fight since we weren't in the first two waves. After the battle it was obvious that Veronica would need a new beta."

"So I assume this is where Clarice comes in?" Leah said. Tamyra nodded.

"Yes. She was the best pick but her competition was just as good. Veronica had been leaning towards Clarice but she told her something that really screwed things up. She said her beta had to be someone with no _bindings_ holding her back." Tamyra paused waiting for the information to sink in. Leah noticed Tre tense. That's when realization hit her.

"She thought that Tre was holding Clarice back." Tamyra nodded.

"Tre was only a sixth tier member. Clarice would be a beta. It wasn't seen as being an acceptable cross if they became mates. So Clarice did what many a career minded woman would do…dump the dude." Tamyra added while glancing at her brother. He hadn't said anything through the whole story. "She was promoted the next day." Tamyra added. Leah let the information saturate. _Had he been able to reconnect with her mentally because of this relationship they had?_

"Were you guys really serious?" Leah asked Tre softly. She had to admit that she felt some pity for him but it wasn't much.

"I was." Tre said sternly, "I guess she wasn't…not at the time anyway. I couldn't blame her though. When I realized what she wanted, I encouraged her to do it." Leah's mouth opened. Tre's admittance caused a momentary shut down of her brain. She started super imposing herself and her problems onto Tre's situation. _What if I had known about imprinting before Sam imprinted? Would I have been able to tell Sam to go to Emily if I knew it would make him happier? _Leah's thoughts cleared. She realized that she hadn't lost her love to a career. She'd lost him to another person. _Which is worse? _ Leah looked at her assaulter again. He looked like he was masking his emotions behind a complacent face.

"He's only acting like it doesn't hurt him because it's been 3 years." Tamyra turned to her brother then, Leah felt the other girl's anger spike. "You dated her for 2 years and it took you just as long to get over her. You were broken hearted, and nothing's worse than a suffering guy trying to act all macho."

"I don't need to wear my emotions on my sleeve like _some_ people."Tre protested. Leah figured he was hinting at someone in particular.

"It was a façade. I could feel those hollow thoughts in that head of yours for almost two years! You were finally getting better and now I hear that you're going right back to that little sl-" Tamyra's volume was steadily rising.

"Don't you dare talk about her that way!" Tre took two steps toward his sister. Leah stood up in response. "Who are you to talk? Letting guys just take advantage of you like it's noth-" Tre never got to finish his statement, as Tamyra despite her hindrance shot over to Tre and slapped him across the face.

"No one,"a few angry breaths escaped her mouth," talks about me like that. Especially not you. I don't care if you think you loved that girl. Go wallow in your misery with someone else." Tamyra finished her harsh whisper before walking straight past Tre and leaving the two in their spots. Leah was confused by both of their statements.

"Okay…what just happened?" Tre remained silent his head still turned in the direction that his sister had slapped it in. He slowly turned to face forward.

"I shouldn't have said that. She just made me so angry I couldn't stop myself." Tre ran both hands through his short hair before resting them behind his head. He glanced at Leah and noticed her lingering gaze on his profile, waiting for him to answer her question. "During my little depression period, Tamyra started getting some attention of her own."

"Damien?" Tre visibly tensed at the name.

"She told you?" Leah nodded slowly remembering a conversation they'd had early on in their friendship.

"She didn't say much, just that he was interested in her, that she didn't like him, and that you hate him." Tre dropped his hands.

"Figures," he mumbled." There's a reason behind that." Leah watched him as he continued to avoid looking at her dead on. She tried to ignore the distant feelings of anger from the other girl as Tre began his explanation. "Tamyra's really headstrong and more of a free spirit. It's why we butt heads so much. I'm more of the conformist, the peacemaker while she was more of a flow with the wind stand up for your rights follow your heart type of girl." Leah quirked an eyebrow, not sure if she'd give that description to the girl. "She wasn't taking to Damien's advances. Down right ignoring him actually. The sick bastard just didn't take no for an answer, especially since he was beta. I guess he thought he needed to teach her a lesson, to…to break her." Tre's heart rate increased and his breathing was labored. Leah figured what he was about to say was hard for him. "I was somewhere tending my stupid broken heart while my sister was out for a run one night. Damien followed her. He-he raped her... in both forms… used a command on her. She tried fighting but it was no use." He collapsed to the ground, as if the memory he was trudging up was too heavy to hold standing up. He righted himself to his knees. "She didn't tell me for three weeks." He croaked. "Didn't mean to actually. She let it slip one day in her thoughts. I went into shell shock. She saw my expression and just broke out into these tears. I didn't know what to do. I hadn't seen her cry since she was five years old. It was like every tear she'd ever held back, came flooding out that day. I just got so angry and it's not a feeling I was familiar with until then. I was so unbalanced but I knew I wanted to just tear into Damien, rip his throat out and shred his soul. I hadn't realized I was broadcasting my thoughts to most of my friends. The worst part was that, when they caught wind of it, they told me that there wasn't anything I could do. That it happens all the time in the pack. I was so blown away by the nonchalance that it didn't even surprise me when I found out her own female _friends,_" he sneered " told her that she should just get over _it_, that she should be _honored_ that the beta even paid attention to her." Tre huffed. "And do you know what just rips my heart out the most," his voice cracked," is that we both listened to them. I took her pain and my anger at what he did to her and bottled it up just like I did with feelings over Clarice and just moped silently over the fact that my sister was dying on the inside. I was so pathetic and she just took it and came to accept the fact that her brother is useless and fragile and that he can't help it but be a coward. I'd just never heard her say it until today. She's never been the same since then. She's more reserved and private. She harbors so many painful thoughts about people and that anger has been building up. I was so happy when I realized your brother was starting to bring out her old self, that I couldn't be angry at him when I found out she was pregnant as well by him. Although I guess that was my fault too…"

Leah rubbed her head in frustration. The idea that something this big had been hidden in the girl's thoughts all this time and she hadn't noticed was wearing her patience. Then all the conversations they'd had came flooding her mind, when they had argued. How Tamyra changed her tone, she went from pushing Leah to get over it to saying she didn't want to push her ideals on her. They weren't her ideas. They were what other people had told her. She was fighting with Leah because she had been struggling with herself. Leah groaned.

"I'd been hating him for so long that when I went and did the same thing he did, I wanted to hate myself twice as much." Leah wasn't in the mood to hear his pity party but it helped her realize what had been causing his actions.

"That's why you wanted Seth to hurt you." Leah said it as a statement. "You didn't want him to give in to the imprint and let you off easy."

"I didn't want him to hate himself more than he hated me." Tre continued as if he'd been telling himself the statement for weeks. Leah's anger melted slightly, the way he said it reminded her of what she'd first heard from his mind.

"That's just the thing. Seth doesn't hate you. Because Myra doesn't hate you." _Although you royally pissed her off just now._ "I know he wants to but he can't. She probably wishes she could but she knows she'd never lower you to Devil Incarnate's level. But _me_," Leah placed a hand on her chest for emphasis, "I'm the one you have to worry about because I'm the only one with grounds to hate you." Leah got into his face. He was still on his knees looking up at her as she stood in front of him. She stared him down searching his eyes for any sign of protest. She noticed how close they were, her labored pants were mixing with his slow breaths."And one more thing. When this battle comes, if neither of you get your hands on that beta you better believe I will grab a hold of his eye sockets, gouge out his eyes and rip that head of his clear off his body with my bare hands." Leah added in a venomous tone. Their gaze hadn't been interrupted. Leah could tell that Tre knew she was completely serious in her proclamation.

"Don't worry. I'd help you." Tre's husky words slipped into her mouth, it was as if she could feel herself swallowing them.

"I know." Leah added. A smug smile tugged at Tre's lips although he didn't let it show long. Leah had enough of the suffocating proximity. She turned to leave but she'd only walked a few steps away before Tre was knocked out of his stupor.

"Wait. Leah there's something else I need to tell you." Leah stopped walking although she didn't turn to face him. "I-I've been having some urges…" he stuttered nervously as he got back to his feet. Leah's eyes narrowed although he couldn't see them. She refused to turn around, to see a change in _his_ eyes.

"What kind of urges?" Leah asked warily.

"Concerning you." He said. Leah blinked rapidly, clearing her mind of the fact that this was her closest friend's brother, he was no longer an allied alpha, he was her rapist, the one that got her pregnant, and she was alone with him and hardly any way to defend herself.

_Myra, come back! Bring Seth with you! _Leah frantically thought to Tamyra. She was stubborn but she wasn't stupid and knew when she needed help. Leah's silence caused Tre to continue speaking again.

"Not like what you think," he added quickly. "I've been having a strong need to…protect you." Leah released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her terror was immediately replaced with agitation.

"Protect me? What for? It's kinda late don't you think?" Leah asked, sarcasm with a touch a bitterness seeping into her voice.

"I don't want anyone else to hurt you."

"Who_ else_ is out there to hurt me?" She asked doubtful he could give her an answer.

"Sam." He said barely allowing her to finish her question. She turned to face him again.

"Sam has nothing to do with this." Leah said taking a few determined steps toward Tre.

"He hurt you once before. Just when I relieved him of your wrath, I don't want him to idiotically fall out of your good graces by doing something stupid." Leah was seething.

"What?!" She screeched.

"Leah. I haven't seen his mind like the wolves have but I've been in that head of his. When we met a few nights after that…day, it started a whirlwind of conversations spoken and unspoken. He's unstable right now. "

"Again…what?! What does Sam-"

"Leah I'm not blind. I know you two have been getting closer and I don't want you to get lulled into thinking he's going to be a good support for you. Yeah, right now he's riding his little high of getting some semblance of feeling back but it's going to fade, I can guarantee you that." His words sound so convicting that Leah was almost driven to lose the fight. But then again this is Leah.

"You don't know Sam. Not like I do."

"You're right." His defensive stance dropped. "I don't but I've gotten to know _you_ in this little bit of time and I know that he has the potential to just wake up one day, or touch you in some way," Leah flinched "or you say something and it'll remind him of his dead Emily and he's going to revert right back into what he has been for the last few months. He's a shell Leah. He's not the Sam you knew. I know you think that with Emily gone, you'll get your Sam back but the Sam here now, is Emily's Sam without Emily." Leah felt her shoulders sagging as if the weight of his words were wearing her down. "It doesn't have to be today or tomorrow but you're going to have to realize that the Sam you knew, your Sam is dead, he died the day he imprinted on Emily." Leah wanted to snap at him. Hit him. Anything. She looked up at his concerned eyes and silently begged them not to turn to pity.

"You don't know anything." Leah all but whispered, she knew there was no fight in her words. Tre didn't even attempt to challenge them.

"I'm not trying to get in the way of your happiness. What I did to you, was a moment of weakness magnified by a whole lot of strange mysticism and manipulation. I take the blame for it. That's why I want to protect you. I can never make it up to you but I want to be there for you, to be there for the baby. The baby needs a father. I feel responsible for the baby and I feel responsible for you. I don't want you to hurt anymore. You've done that enough." Tre admitted. Leah was stunned. She hadn't expected him to want to be part of the child's life. She was content to just call him a sperm donor for the rest of her life.

"You said you were leaving after the battle." Leah stated as a matter of fact.

"I know but I got to thinking and I really don't want to be like one of those fathers that run across the country trying to escape court costs and child support. I want to help with the child. It's my fault the baby'll be born in the first place. Let me carry some of the burden." Tre's voice was deep and heavy with sincerity. She despised this honest side of him. It made it so much harder to hate him.

"Maybe I don't want you to be the kid's father." Leah said, and actually surprised herself when she had.

"You-you don't?" He was desperately trying to hide his disappointment. "But I-"

"I don't want my child to be raised in a broken home. I want the man that'll be my child's father to be the man I want to spend the rest of my life with." Leah could only hope that this would shut him up and not cause him to say something stupid.

"I…" he hesitated, "guess that sounds reasonable." He stated still trying to respect her wishes. Leah could almost feel the struggle going on in his mind when she realized that the mental connection between them was starting to hum back to life. She panicked, not ready to be attached to him again. Luckily he noticed his weakening and blocked the pathway between their minds again. "I just really hoped-," _there's that sincerity again._

"Listen. I'll think about this later. I've got too much to think about to add who's gonna be the father figure in my kid's life." Leah huffed. Tre didn't push the subject any longer.

"I still meant what I said before…" He paused but Leah thought he was done so she continued walking away back through the trees. "I'm not gonna let Sam or anyone else for that matter hurt you again." He called. She didn't stop but thought she'd heard him mumble something along the lines of "I was the last one." She just kept going until she heard the voices of the pack.

* * *

A/N: o...m...jacob.... :O


	19. Chapter 18

Leah was nearly bombarded by Tamyra and Seth only moments after ditching Tre. Seth was in human form and Leah raised an eyebrow when she noticed how disheveled they both looked. Seth had a huge grin on his face despite the fact they had leaves sticking out of their slightly messed up hair.

"Your sweats are on backwards." Leah said. Seth looked confused then looked down.

"Oh. Right. BRB!" Seth said before jogging behind a tree. Tamyra giggled and watched him leave then turned back to Leah.

"I can explain-"

"Save it," Leah snapped cutting off the other girl. "Don't want to know. I just hope I can depend on you the next time I send out a mental SOS." Leah tried to chastise her but she couldn't help the guilt that threatened to bubble out of the pit of her stomach while looking at the girl. Tamyra noticed Leah's change. Her good mood disappeared quickly.

"Don't you dare do _that_." Tamyra whispered harshly.

"Do what?" Leah asked.

"Pity me." Tamyra replied still harsh.

"I'm not pitying you, if anything I'm sympathizing."

"I don't care. I don't do that to you so don't think I'm more fragile or weaker than you are."

"Stop acting like me!" Leah cut her off frustrated, "You don't want it because I don't want it. Tre told me how you used to be. How could you just keep something bottled up like that?" Leah asked the frustration heavy in her voice now.

"What I did and who I was before I met you is none of your business." Tamyra's eyes bore into Leah's.

"It is my business if it's making you miserable." Leah said quietly.

"I'm not miserable." Before Leah could contest the statement, Seth bounded back towards them.

"Hey I guess we can head back now since you all are finished." Seth looked around. "Where's um…Tre?" Leah and Tamyra glanced at each other.

"He'll come a little behind us." Leah answered. She turned to continue heading towards the Cullen land. Seth whispered something urgent to Tamyra but Leah couldn't make it out. Jacob and Sam were the first to notice Leah coming out of the trees alone. Sam started to jog toward her until he spotted Seth and Tamyra. He slowed to a walk.

"Everything okay?" Sam asked when he reached them. Leah simply nodded, not wanting to give away any emotion that might reference the conversation. She knew Jacob would want to know what happened but she didn't know how much she wanted to tell the pack just yet. _Good thing I haven't been phasing regularly with them. _Jacob joined them. Leah looked over his shoulder and noticed that the packs had dropped formation and was just talking amongst themselves. She also noticed that the three panthers were still in their spots although Clarice was staring straight at their huddled group.

"So…how'd it go?" Jacob asked trying to read their expressions. Leah kept hers stoic.

"It was…informative."Leah answered. Tamyra shot a glance at her that she was sure no one missed. There was rustling in the trees then Tre came out, his hands resting in his pockets. He looked at her, then Seth, avoided his sister's eyes and focused on Jacob.

"We probably shouldn't discuss this until Clarice leaves." Tre suggested. Jacob and Sam nodded. Leah let an incredulous look cross her features before she plastered her straight face back on. _Why would he care if she heard the discussion? She knew more than we did. _Tre must have caught on to her silent question. "We can trust her…to a degree. She may be _intending_ on siding with us but that's not definite unless we keep up our end of the bargain. Until then, we need to still treat her as the enemy." Tre explained. Everyone showed their agreement. Jacob turned and called everyone back into formation. Embry worked quickly to get his pack in order. They were silent by the time the group had reached them. Leah fell back into her place just behind Jacob and on his right side. Tamyra stood to her right and Tre stood next to her. Clarice's group stood in their previous positions.

"Is there anything else you wish to say?" Jacob said. Leah let the pride slip onto her face at how easily Jacob fell into his leadership position now.

"There is not much left to say." Clarice turned to Tre "I hope that you have been able to sort out your issues," she turned back to Jacob," And I hope that you will consider my proposal." Jacob didn't answer her. He turned to his left to catch Embry's eye then turned to his right to catch both Leah and Tre. He faced forward and nodded toward Clarice. She let a small grin cross her face, then lifted her head higher.

"Thank you for listening, and I am sorry for any inconveniences we may have caused." She paused, "We will continue with the agreement." Her two comrades did an about face. "In three months time?" She asked.

"In three months time." Jacob confirmed. Clarice nodded and turned around to lead her entourage back through the woods. The sounds of their three pairs of footsteps were quickly replaced by the nearly silent pounding of 3 sets of four. Soon the sounds disappeared altogether. "Okay everybody, let's get back to work."

* * *

"Seth…Uncle Seth….Seeeeethhhhh!" Renesmee's voice startled Seth out of his nap.

"Wha? What happened? Are the panther's here?" Renesmee started giggling at Seth's frantic questioning. When the grogginess subsided he turned his body on the couch and focused on the little girl and smiled. "Oh Nessie. What is it?" He asked her gently.

"I was wondering if you could be so kind as to help me with my math studies." She requested of him while clutching a thin textbook behind her back. Seth eyed it warily then quickly scanned the room for any other adults. _Where is everybody? _He briefly wondered if he ignored her would she go away. He tried for a few seconds then turned slowly to look at her to see if his plan worked. She was still looking at him expectantly.

"I don't know how much help I'd be Ness."

"You go to high school though. It shouldn't be that difficult for you to understand." Seth couldn't argue with her knowledge until he remembered who he was talking to. _Who knows what they're already teaching her. _Seth agreed and Renesmee quickly handed him the textbook behind her back. She skipped from the room assuring him that she would be right back. He took the time to skim through the book. _This shouldn't be too hard. It looks like simple geometry._ He only got through a few pages before she returned with pencil and paper in hand.

"Where's your calculator?" Seth asked her curiously.

"Father says that I shouldn't become dependent on calculators. That I should understand the material and how the steps occur before I take a shortcut and use modern technology." Renesmee explained pleasantly although it seemed a bit rehearsed. _I wonder how many times he's told her that. _

"Okay so um…" Seth opened the textbook to a random page. "How about this problem?" Renesmee wasn't listening to him. She had already set up a small table and was busy pulling a larger book from a nearby bookcase. She dropped it onto the small table in front of Seth. It landed with a loud thud. She flipped to the middle of the larger book and placed her index finger on a problem.

"I'm having trouble with this one." She said innocently. Seth picked the book up and peered at the strange symbols closely. He was sure that it had a misprint in it because one of the symbols looked like a sideways eight and another one was like large E.

"Ness how about you read the problem to me?" He said trying to stall and hope someone would save him.

"It asks me to take the limit," _Limit?_ "-as x approaches infinity from the left side,"_Infinity? From the what side? What's on the other side? _"-of the expression x squared over…" Seth zoned out. He felt like he'd just walked into a Charlie Brown episode and Renesmee's voice sound just like the adults drone. He was a staunch believer that numbers and letters did not belong in the same math problem. _Letters don't belong in math problems at all. _"Uncle Seth?" Renesmee was tugging on Seth's arm. He'd missed her entire explanation of the question. Seth could only guess that he had the deer caught in headlights look.

"Nessie…what type of geometry is this?" Renesmee blinked a few times before giggling.

"This isn't geometry Uncle Seth. It's Calculus." Seth's mouth made a perfect O. He peered around the room again looking for someone else to walk through the door. No such luck.

"Listen Ness…I don't know Calculus. And what's with Edwa-your dad saying you can't use a calculator? Calculus basically has the word calculator in it!" This caused Renesmee to laugh some more." Sorry I won't be of much help. I only got to geometry when I was in school." He admitted.

"Was?" Renesmee asked obviously confused as to why he wasn't still in school.

"Let's just say I'm taking a break from school until all this panther stuff blows over." Renesmee nodded her head in understanding although she was a little sad that she wouldn't be getting math help from him.

"Now who's going to be able to help me with my math studies?" Seth started to shrug when the most beautiful voice in his world was heard.

"I may be of some assistance." Seth and Renesmee's head popped up as Tamyra entered the living room having just come down the stairs. Seth figured she must have just finished her exam with Carlisle. "It's basic Calc right?" Renesmee's face lit up as she nodded her head. Seth helped Tamyra into his seat across from Renesmee. He stood over them as Tamyra studied the problem.

"What exactly are you having trouble with?" She asked in a tone Seth hadn't heard from her before. _It's kinda…teachery. _

"I evaluate the problem but my limit always comes out to this." Renesmee pointed to her work she'd already done on her paper. Tamyra rubbed her chin while looking at it.

"You're work's correct, but 0 over 0 is an indeterminate form. You just need to use L'Hopital's rule to get the derivative of-" Renesmee broke out in a huge smile as Tamyra explained. Seth's head hurt. He was pretty sure his imprint had just said something in French in that sentence. _I miss simple math. _

"I see now. Silly me. I can't believe I forgot that." Renesmee said scolding herself in her innocent voice.

"Don't worry, it's easy to forget-" Tamyra assured her.

"Oh thank you auntie Tamyra!" Renesmee gushed. She quickly covered her mouth though when she saw Tamyra's quizzical expression.

"Auntie?"

"Sorry, I mean, I think of all of my Jacob's pack mates as uncles and aunt, but mother says that I should be polite and call everyone Mr. or Miss just in case they don't feel comfortable with my calling them uncle or aunt, but Uncle Seth doesn't mind and since you're Uncle Seth's imprint I think of you as an aunt too, and I was really hoping I could be cousins with your baby and Leah's baby!" Renesmee explained in one breath.

"That all sounds…nice?" Tamyra smiled encouragingly and Renesmee's smile broke out over her face once more. "So do you have any other math problems you've been having trouble with?" Seth joined the smile fest as Renesmee started jumping up and down with excitement. He didn't notice when Leah came into the room.

"About that little break you were talking about?" Seth froze.

"You heard that?" Leah nodded, her expression silently scolding him. Seth gulped.

"Since when did mom give you an okay to go on hiatus from high school?" Seth's fingers twitched as he tried to quickly come up with a lie but then he remembered he really sucked at it.

"Uh…she didn't?" Leah's eyes shot to the ceiling as she huffed out some air. "Okay hear me out sis. I need to be prepared for this battle. I can't be bothered with school. And if you haven't forgotten, I have a family to take care of. I can't waste time doing something that's not paying out cash." Seth rubbed his fingers together in rapid succession to symbolize his imaginary money.

"What do you call being a shape shifter then?" Seth couldn't deny that Leah had him there.

"Besides that. When this whole battle stuff settles down, I'm gonna look for a job so I can care for Tamyra and the baby. Not to mention you're gonna need someone to help you-" Leah put up a hand to stop him.

"Seth, don't worry about me. I'll take care of my baby. You focus on your issues. And anyway who's gonna hire you without a high school diploma?" Seth shrugged. He couldn't tell her that he hadn't thought that far yet. His silence answered for him. "Seth, Seth, Seth. You were a senior. You could have just finished up this year then thought about hitting the work force. At this rate you're shooting for minimum wage and that's if you luck out. How do you expect to raise a family on minimum wage?" Leah's questioning was hurting Seth's head again. He ran both hands through his hair. Leah stopped her ranting and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is why you shouldn't get pregnant when you're a teenager." Leah patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Just think, in a few weeks, that little bundle of joy isn't gonna be quietly tucked away in Tamyra's stomach anymore. She's gonna be out her…wailing… all day long. Tell me how your work ethic is then." Leah walked away from him smirking. How she was taking their situations so lightly was beyond Seth but then again he figured she probably had more time to think about it while he had been blissfully gliding through the weeks, trying to bond with his imprint before the baby came. He let out a long exhale just as Jacob burst through the front door. He was still tugging on his pants meaning he'd just phased.

"Hey guys. Pack news. We have a meeting with the elders tomorrow. Both packs are supposed to be there, including the two panthers." Jacob ended by doing an eye sweep of the room.

"What about?" Leah asked.

"Everything. Embry told them about the run in we had with Clarice the other day. They want to know the information and that includes whatever it is that you discussed with Myra and Tre in the woods." Seth heard Leah say something under breath. "I'll call Quil and tell him. Seth, could you get in touch with Thing 1 and Thing 2?" Seth agreed knowing who he was referring to.

"I think the Cullens will need to be there." Everyone turned to look at Tamyra when she said this.

"Why do they need to be there?" Jacob asked not understanding. Tamyra shrugged.

"Tre told me he'd been discussing something interesting with Carlisle, Edward, and Jasper. It sounds important although he hasn't told me what it was." Seth knew Jacob wasn't too thrilled about getting the vampires involved with pack business.

"Can't _he_ just tell us?" Jacob asked, already annoyed. Tamyra shrugged again.

"I was just suggesting it since the Elders want all the information laid out on the table. Again I'm not sure what it is but it could just be a matter of him having trouble articulating what the issue is." Seth noticed Leah shift while Tamyra was explaining.

"I think she's right. Mind Stalker told me a while back that he'd been having trouble explaining something himself about what was going on with Tre."

"And he hasn't told you anything? Even when you were in the woods?" Leah and Tamyra shook their heads.

"He may not know what's going on himself."Leah said.

"With the Cullen's there, it may be easier with their joint perspectives to explain." Tamyra finished for her. Jacob ran his hands through his hair.

"Fine," Jacob consented, "I'll have to ask the Cullens but I'm sure Sam and the elders won't be too happy about this."

"Sam?" Seth asked a little confused as to why his opinion mattered anymore.

"You know Sam is still whispering in Embry's ear. He hasn't completely given up the reigns yet. If I can't swing Sam I won't swing Embry. Unless…"Jacob's gaze shifted to Leah. Soon everyone was staring at Leah in realization, including Renesmee who'd found their discussion more interesting than her calculus problems.

"I don't appreciate being used as sex bait." Leah said although Seth could pick out the humor in her voice.

"Oh c'mon Leah," Jacob begged. " You know how Sam is. If you can just kind of-"

"Manipulate him?" Leah offered crossing her arms over her chest.

"Manipulate is such a harsh word. Just…persuade him a little. You even said yourself that we may need the Cullens. You know there's no way I'll be able to get the Cullens on the rez without Embry's consent." Seth knew that Jacob was right.

"What happened to you being the almighty alpha? Isn't your word law? You got Renesmee on the rez." Renesmee smiled at being included in the conversation.

"That was when it was Ephraim Black descendant versus Levi Uley descendant. Now it's Black versus…_Call_-Black. You know those old geezers will use that equalizer as justification for keeping the Cullens away." Everyone just kept watching Leah's expression. It was all down to her decision on the matter. Her mouth made a movement as if she were chewing her tongue.

"Fine but I'm not wearing anything skankish."

* * *

A/N:this family sucks that's on Family Feud right now...oh sorry yeah new chap review please. I wish there was a button you could press to say "hey I read your story" because I'm getting hits on my stories but I dont get that many reviews...which reminds me

**I REALLY LOVE MY REVIEWERS...**I was like re-reading them and they just brighten my day because you guys just get into the story and tell me what you think and it just makes me have one of those genuine smiles. I should tell you all that more often. :)


	20. Chapter 19

"What time are they supposed to get here?" Leah asked as she swatted at the hundredth mosquito that'd bothered her. Alice had insisted on dressing Leah for the meeting, once she heard Jacob's scheme. Leah had turned down the miniskirt outfit so she was now clad in a surprisingly cute, maternity top along with a pair of black stretch pants, that managed to thin her figure below the stomach. Leah would have been more gracious of the outfit had Alice not drowned her in body oil that was attracting every known insect at the moment. She and Jacob were waiting on the Cullen's side of the treaty line for nearly an hour anticipating Embry and Sam to show.

"I don't know." Jacob replied as he kicked at some rocks on the ground. Leah turned to look at him.

"You don't know?" Jacob shrugged quickly then noticing the irritation in her tone decided to explain.

"We didn't set up a specific time, I just told him to meet me tonight." Leah groaned at the fact the boys that were meant to protect their tribe couldn't be more unorganized. Jacob glanced in her direction then tried to disguise a laugh. Leah glared at him waiting for him to explain what was so amusing. "Seriously Lee…couldn't you have gone a little more subtle with the whole get up? I mean the heels and the makeup-"

"Hey Jerk Face Alpha, this was your idea. It's your big fat mouth that alerted the psychic!"

"I'm sorry Lee, I just don't think_ I_ can even take you seriously." Jacob chuckled some more. Either out of jealousy that he could dress comfortably or out of sheer annoyance that he was getting a kick out of her attire in response to _his_ idea, Leah was ready to nag on him when she caught Embry's and Sam's scents.

"I thought this was supposed to be just an alpha meeting." Embry said when he came into Jacob and Leah's view. Sam appeared right behind him.

"Looks like you didn't get that memo either." Leah said causing Jacob to chuckle. Sam nodded in her direction and she returned the greeting. She caught his eyes lingering on her figure a little too long. _Plan might work after all._

"Why'd you call me out here Jake?" Embry asked trying to send a message that he had better things to do. Leah smirked. _The only thing he has to do is babysit a couple of teenage boys…or Tenia. _

"It's about the meeting tomorrow." Jacob began. "I need to make a revision to the treaty."

"Why?" Embry snapped.

"Because the Cullens need to attend."

"Out of the question." Leah raised an eyebrow. The way Embry was dismissing Jacob was eerily similar to Sam.

"Embry hear me out." Jacob threw a glance at Leah before continuing. She figured that must be a signal for her to get ready to work her charm. "Tre has been discussing something with the Cullen guys and we need them all there to explain it. It could be very important for the battle."

"What is it?" Embry asked. Leah agreed that it was a sensible question…just no one had the answer. Jacob hesitated before answering.

"We don't know-" Jacob was cut off by Embry's dark chuckle.

"You expect me to really grant the Cullens access to our land without so much as a reason." Embry said with a laugh in his voice. _Great! He's still channeling his inner Sam._

"No." Jacob said taking a few steps closer to Embry without crossing the border." I don't need your approval on anything. If I want to change to treaty I will. I was just trying to be the nice guy and give you a heads up." Embry stopped laughing. Leah saw Sam tense as Embry took steps himself to get closer to Jacob. The two started sizing each other up. Since Sam didn't look as if he was going to intervene Leah decided to step up.

"Hey you two bozos," Leah moved closer to them, straddling the border and placed a hand on each of their chests. "Just settle down. We can at least discuss this as adults." She pushed them with what she thought was with a gentle force, but she'd forgotten her new found strength and actually made Embry stumble backwards a little. Jacob stepped back more willingly.

"Why don't you just get the Cullens to tell you guys what it is then _you_ just tell everyone at the meeting?" Embry suggested after getting his bearings. Leah and Jacob shared a look.

"We think it needs to be open for discussion, and we'll need as many opinions as possible to figure it out." Leah was surprised that Jacob had come to that conclusion by himself. Embry finally acknowledged Sam's presence. The two looked to be having a silent conversation. "We've been training at the Cullens for weeks now. You can't tell me you're still holding steadfast to those prejudices from the past." Jacob's reasoning caught Embry's attention.

"They have been very…hospitable toward us-" Embry paused when Sam caught his attention again._ Strange, this is more of a Jacob tone of voice._ Embry waved him off quickly with a hand. "-under the circumstances but we can't just expose our human members to such a risk. When we go on their land it's different. Everyone there can defend themselves. Who knows what could happen if we let 8 and a half vampires loose in LaPush." Embry argued.

"You know they won't do-" Jacob started.

"Jacob. I know Renesmee's your imprint but that's blinding you to the fact that there are some of us that still care about LaPush and the people in it." Embry began, cutting Jacob off, "I know you trust them but if there was even one mistake, you know my pack would be on them for the kill. And I know that you wouldn't stand by and watch your imprint's family be destroyed. So where does that leave your pack?" Embry paused and shrugged for dramatic effect. "They'd be torn between following you blindly, fighting with you, and protecting their own. Or have you forgotten that they're basically throwing their lives away to prove how loyal they are to you?" Embry's tone was convicting. Leah had to admit she hadn't thought of that situation. _If one of the Cullens lost it and went after my mom…I don't think I'd be able to- _Leah didn't finish the thought. Mainly because she knew what her choice would be. And that choice did not help the Alpha-Beta duo look like a united front. She didn't let her own fears show although she shifted her weight lightly. Sam caught the slight movement and jumped in to the conversation.

"You really should have thought this through Jacob before dragging your pack members into such a situation. Your pack is smaller, and your beta is slightly hindered. You'd be outnumbered and risking more than just the lives of your pack." Sam concluded.

"Okay enough with the guilt trip." Jacob threw his arms up exasperated that he was getting double teamed and had no way to counter. "You know I'd never ask my pack to put their lives on the line for me, especially Leah." Leah had enough of her name being thrown around as if she wasn't there.

"Enough with pulling the pregnant Leah card." She'd gotten the guys attention. "How about we not let the entire Cullen clan come? Just the ones that are essential to the discussion." Embry made a gesture as if asking which vampires. "Carlisle and Edward definitely. Probably Jasper as well." Leah said the last one lower, closer to a mumble. She knew Jasper had a red alert on his name. "They're the ones that have been analyzing Tre." Leah finished.

"Bella will probably want to come." Jacob added. Leah shot him a nasty look.

"Why does she need to come?" Jacob shrugged.

"She doesn't. But I know her and she'll feel like she belongs there since she was kinda sorta in the pack once upon a time."

"Or because she can't stand the thought of leaving her hubby for a few hours." Leah suggested. It caused Embry to chuckle. Sam stifled his.

"Fine no Bella but what about Ness?" Leah huffed.

"That doesn't really help the 'no Bella' rule. She'll be whiny if her dude and her daughter get to come and not her. And little kids don't need to be at adult meetings." Jacob looked down at his feet.

"I just kinda wanted her to be there with me." Jacob mumbled. Leah shook her head.

"Hmm…I wonder who would win the short leash contest between you and Edward," Jacob gave her look that made him resemble a five year old. "Besides isn't she already allowed on the Rez?" Leah asked, this caught Embry and Sam's attention. Embry jumped in, answering Leah quickly.

"I think Leah's right…little kids don't really need to be at the meeting. I mean first we'll have Renesmee then Quil'll want Claire there. Next thing you know all the imprints will want to come. And before you know it baby Leo is crying his head off and we just won't get anything done." Embry said pleadingly. Jacob had missed Embry's speech. Leah figured he was still reveling about Renesmee being at the meeting.

"I agree with Embry." Leah said. _Which actually means I'm agreeing with myself…nice. _She ignored her sarcastic thoughts. Her statement caused all three guys heads to whip in her direction. She rolled her eyes. "We only need the Cullen guys to be there minus Emmett. That should be enough. We'll have enough minds what with all the shape shifters and the Elders." Jacob looked like he wanted to protest.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sam agreed quickly. Embry shrugged.

"We should have an awesome battle plan made up in no time." Jacob, completely forgotten that he'd been overruled, looked to Embry at his statement.

"What do you mean-" Jacob started to ask.

"Oh didn't I tell you?" Embry asked, as he and Sam turned to leave. "The meeting isn't just a discussion. We're gonna start mapping out battle plans and writing up strategies." Jacob's jaw dropped. Leah inconspicuously scratched her head. _This just makes everything more…tangible doesn't it? _Satisfied with the state he'd left the two, Embry let out one more chuckle then turned and left, Sam was right by his side until he turned and spoke over his shoulder.

"You look beautiful Lee," was all he said before quickly catching up to Embry. Leah didn't grant him an answer she just wiggled her nose and looked away trying to hide her appreciation of his compliment.

* * *

A/N: Okay short chap but it was getting too long for my liking so I cut it in half and the rest will be its own chapter. News guys: The DimPrint has been nominated for the Indie Twific Awards which I believe voting starts the 8th which is like tomorrow? Correct me if I'm wrong. And I looked at the list and that mug is loooong so if any of my readers out there have stories that were also nominated PM me or leave it in the review or something so I can like peruse and stuff!*wink* Oh yes and vote for DimPrint for Most Original Story line *woot* Okay enough of that


	21. Chapter 20

"Quiet Everyone! Settle down!" Billy tried to call everyone to order. The building that served as the Elder's Council was jammed pack with bodies. The Elders sat towards the front of the room as usual facing out toward the crowd. To their right was Embry's large pack. To the left was Jacob's pack, the Cullens, and the panthers. Tenia was present as well she sat next to Embry taking notes for the meeting. "This is a very…inclusive meeting," Billy's eyes shot towards the Cullens," and we'll need everyone's cooperation so that it will go as smoothly as possible." The noise in the room decreased significantly. Seth perked up in his seat as the meeting officially began. "Now this meeting has been called by the Council and both alphas. We understand that the treaty has been temporarily revoked so that the Cullens may present whatever information they have that can benefit both packs. Nevertheless the meeting should focus on preparation for the battle that will take place in less than three months am I correct?" Embry and Jacob nodded. Billy continued. "I'm going to ask Embry to take the floor first." Seth heard someone growl but he wasn't sure who it was. When Embry stood up, a few of the younger wolves started to cheer before they were quieted by their older pack mates.

"First, I think we need a recap of how we got to this point." Embry began by quickly reviewing the detail from the first meeting with the panther pack. He periodically stopped to confirm facts with Tre who was standing near the back of the room near the Cullens. Leah was seated at the front next to Jacob. Seth sat a few rows behind them with Tamyra. Embry continued with his update on his pack's training update then moved on to the recent meeting with Clarice. He told the story from his account, leaving out the part about Leah, Tamyra, and Tre having a separate discussion in the woods which no one had heard details about outside the trio. Seth hadn't even heard what happened although he was the one patrolling their area.

"Thank you Embry for that." Sue said. She turned to Jacob. "Jacob, I believe it's your turn." The group of young wolves booed. Seth saw Leah shoot them a glare that silenced them immediately. Jacob stood up.

"So our story is pretty similar. As you learned from Embry, both packs have joined up for training. We are trying to get some semblance of unity back. I'm very proud of our progress but I know that this is a little bigger than a fight with newborns. And we won't be able to talk ourselves out of battle like what happened with the Volturi." Seth noticed Edward tense. "We're dealing with experienced fighters, whose sole goal is to destroy us. We need to be ready. That is why I asked the Cullens to be here today. They won't be fighting but they've offered us help in every other manner. We need skill and knowledge. Let's face it, they're older than all of us, they're packing some wisdom." This elicited a few laughs from the crowd. "Seriously though, if we combine the knowledge of everyone in this room, I assure you we'll be more than ready when those panthers come." Jacob finished his speech. Seth felt himself sit a little taller after listening to his alpha. Embry stood up.

"I agree with Jake," Jacob tried to hide his surprise. "These panthers are banking on us being unprepared and unorganized because we're young. Let's show them up when they come back." There were a few cheers that no one bothered to quiet. Billy raised his hands to settle everyone again although Seth thought he saw a look of pride cross the man's face.

"Alright. Then what do we know about the panthers?" The elders and Embry's pack all looked to Jacob, who in turn, looked to Tre. Tre shot a glance at his sister before pushing himself from the wall he'd been leaning on.

"I know that the beta male will most likely be leading the attack. I've worked under him, I know how he works, and unfortunately he's prone to surprises. He's smart, real smart. He can gather details on his enemy quickly and I can guarantee you that he used the first meeting to scope out as much as he could of this area, its people, not just the pack." There were a few gasps. Old Quil shifted in his seat before he spoke.

"Could you give us an outlook?" Tre glanced in a few directions before answering.

"If we were to fight them today, they'd have the upper hand and would most certainly wipe us out." The bluntness of Tre's statement made the room go silent. Tenia had dropped her pencil staring out nervously in Embry's direction. "Which is why it is very fortunate that Jacob requested the six months of peace time." Seth glanced at Jacob, to see a barely visible smug look. "This isn't a lost cause. We've been focusing on speed, which we still need a great deal of work on, but we need to start moving onto combat. We need strategy and a few tricks of our own. Preparation is key." Tre paused his speech to look up at the elders. "I can't identify what he plans on doing exactly but I'm formulating a plan on how we can startle the panthers with our own surprises." Old Quil raised his index finger before speaking again.

"So we are simply to expect the unexpected?" Old Quil asked, inciting a sense of unease throughout the room. Tre shook his head before answering.

"Not entirely. Clarice, the female beta will be in charge of the rudimentary combat. She organizes the waves of fighters. My sister will be able to go into greater detail on that, as she has worked under her closely. I can assure that we will be more than prepared to fight them hand to hand." There were a few murmurs. The elders had turned to face Tamyra, waiting for her to speak. She shifted in her seat, Seth helped her to her feet then she cleared her throat.

"Clarice has a very strategic way of unleashing the fighters." Tamyra began. She quickly explained the hierarchy of the pack. "The 6th and 5th strain members will be let out first. With their greater numbers, they'll have no problem double or even triple teaming you. This first wave is made up of sprinters, their only job will be to distract you and tire you out by keeping you moving. They're not trained fighters so out of fear they will try to stay away from you. Let's face it, you guys are pretty intimidating." There were a few laughs but everyone soon quieted down to let her continue. " It'll be reminiscent of a game of tug of war with these cats only your patience will be the rope as they can get real annoying really fast. The second wave will be the 4th and 3rd string members. They will fight you when you're distracted. If you find yourself plenty tired from the first wave, you can bet that a second wave member will come to try and take a few jabs at you. You can take them down, they aren't the best fighters and they aren't the peak runners. You'll want to take them down quickly though, because it's the third wave you should be worried about." All movement stilled as Tamyra said this. "The second and first string members are your toughest competition. They are the strongest fighters in the pack and they're the cleverest. They will be watching you the entire time while their comrades are trying to tire you out, so don't become so predictable while fighting. They'll study you and wont hesitate to take you out quickly. Mind you, you'll be surrounded this time by at least 3 or four panthers while trying to ward off a trained fighter. At any time during this, Damien could begin his surprise attacks or any plans he has."

"That sounds like pure chaos." Sue shrieked. Tamyra looked at her.

"It will be." She agreed solemnly.

"Sweet!" Paul breathed excitedly before Sam smacked him upside the head. Paul rubbed it before continuing. "I'm just saying what the younger ones wanted to say. Ever since the vampires died down, I've been waiting to beat some panthers down for a while now." A few snickers indicated that others shared the sentiment. Seth realized that most of the younger wolves had seen little to no battle and were probably itching in anticipation for the one to come. Tamyra decided to speak again before the mass could get anymore distracted.

"Don't mistake chaos for disorganization. They _will_ be organized to a tee. Their goal will be to exhaust and confuse the enemy."

"I have a question." Jared said suddenly standing up. His eyes shifted between Tre and Tamyra. "You said a while back that the panthers only had 30 members. We have about 20 strong ourselves, they won't be able to tag team us as easily." Everyone started chatting at once by Jared's observation, no one bothering to tell him that he hadn't actually posed a question. Tre decided to answer.

"I know that's what I said at the bonfire but in times of war, the pack tends to have a boom. With this long break, I wouldn't be surprised if they've recruited some old members or allies to help. They could easily be reaching a 40 or 50 members pack by now." This caused the volume in the room to increase even more. There were a few panicky voices but Seth couldn't concentrate on what anyone was saying. Billy raised his hands to settle everyone again.

"Calm down everyone, we need to discuss this logically. This is what the meeting is for, so that we will all be on the same page." Seth's eyes wandered. Billy failed to quiet the group and with good reason. Seth found himself a little nervous at the thought that their enemies may have doubled them in size. Jacob stood again.

"We can't forget the meeting with Clarice a few days ago." This caused most people to regain focus. "These 50 enemies could become 50 allies if we simply chop off the high end of the pack." There were a few nods in understanding.

"How do you know you can trust her though?" was Sue's worried question. Jacob looked back at Tre as if asking for help with the conversation. He assured everyone that Clarice could be trusted to keep up her end of the bargain, if they succeeded.

"We could assign a task force, with the sole goal of attacking the leadership set minus Clarice, but that will put strain on the other wolves fighting."

"He's right. Even if we set aside 5 wolves for the special attack that could change the ratio for the hand to hand." Embry elaborated on Tre's statement.

"True, but we should focus on the leaders. We want this battle to be over as quickly as possible so we should sacrifice a few wolves from the main group to fight in the task force." Jared countered."Trying to have everyone fighting as to not over extend anyone results in a long bloody battle, we can learn to fight multiple enemies at once if it'll end in a quick scrap." People began voicing their agreement. Tre raised his hand to gain attention.

"Wait, there is something that needs to be said so that none of us fall into a false sense of security. Until the moment, Clarice names herself alpha and gives the order to back down, no one can go easy on the panthers or expect them to do the same. Even if Orson is about to breath his last breath and you're about to get attacked, you go for the kill no matter what." Seth blinked rapidly. He saw his mother tense. The thought of killing the panthers suddenly felt very foreign to him. He knew there'd be violence but the thought sickened him that he would be killing some of his imprint's relatives. Even though they both acted as if it didn't bother them, he knew there was a possibility that was what it was, acting. The two were very good at hiding their emotions when need be and to prove loyal to the wolves, the only pack they had, they would be potentially sacrificing their own family, their cousins, their blood. Seth ran a hand through his short hair. He looked around the room, stopping every so often on his brothers; faces… on his sister…. his mother… the Cullens. It suddenly all seemed surreal. He distantly heard Billy's voice again trying to calm everyone but he couldn't pull himself from his thoughts. Fighting with the vampires was one thing. They were exterminating those that lived by killing the innocent. It was black and white to the wolves. Of course there was the gray area known as the Cullens, but the idea was straight forward. This battle, to Seth was black, white and every color in between. They were fighting their own kind just for the sake of fighting. _That's what it boils down to anyway. _They were fighting because the other pack found them to be a threat. He thought it strangely similar to the relationship between the Cullens and the Volturi.

"Please, everyone, let's return to the task at hand." Old Quil was taking the reigns on the meeting. "It may help if we continue to gather facts and write them down so that we can begin drafting our plans later." Taking Old Quil's lead, two elders that Seth recognized as being fathers to some of the younger wolves, went and retrieved a long piece of blank paper. They placed the paper on a table that had been set up in the middle of the room. Collin and Solomon had been using it as seating but were quickly shooed off. A few writing utensils were produced from one of the elder's pockets and deposited on top of the paper. They backed away and everyone was waiting on who would approach the planning table first.

* * *

Leah watched the silent struggle between the two alphas. Everyone was waiting to see who, between Jacob and Embry, would be driving this segment. She looked at Jacob and saw his eyes boring into Embry's almost encouraging him. Embry on the other hand looked almost fearful. He looked to Sam who was not offering any assistance. Leah almost felt sorry for the guy, but she realized this would be his rite of passage into the alpha position. He had to become the leader that everyone looked up to, when it came to the tribe. _He barked a lot last night, let's see if he can walk the walk. _The seconds felt agonizingly long as the two just continued to struggle with who would be in control. Jacob was giving him a freebie and Embry…just wasn't ready. _I could've told them that. _Embry wasn't Embry the alpha just yet, he was more like Embry the part Sam part Jacob alpha. _Poor kid's probably having an identity crisis. _Jacob let out a huff and stood.

"Perhaps we could start with the task force." Jacob said to the room although his eyes were focused on the blank paper. He grabbed a pen and bent over the table. "We'll want a good group for this, people that work well together and can get the job done fast." Jacob's words slowly made the feeling of disappointment evaporate.

"We'll need fighters in that group especially." Leah was surprised when Quil spoke up. "The best probably since alpha's and beta's are usually at the top in that area and that will be the target." Quil finished just as Jared spoke up.

"Yes but we shouldn't put all of our best fighters in one group, it'll upset the balance when the rest of the pack is fighting." There were a few nods of agreements then Leah turned just as her brother stood.

"Then we split up the best fighters, some are in the field and some are in the group." The guys that had spoken made their way closer to the table with Jacob. Leah looked at Embry who still looked ashamed and had not left his seat.

"How about we put our two fastest and our three strongest in the special group?" She heard, surprisingly Paul suggest as he too got up and joined the table. Leah glanced around as the side chatter started again. Tre was whispering something to the Cullens. She turned and saw Sam staring meaningfully at Embry who was being either consoled or encouraged by Tenia. Her mother was speaking animatedly with the other Elders while the planning table was busy writing their ideas down.

"Sam could you come look at this." Paul asked over his shoulder, since it looked as if he and Jacob were arguing about something already. Sam shot a look at Embry before getting up and walking towards the table. "What if we did this…" Paul's voice trailed off as the noise in the room got louder.

_Shouldn't you be up there? _Tamyra mentally asked Leah.

_I'll go when Embry decides to be a man and get up! _Leah didn't like the idea that the man currently guarding LaPush, and his mom was being such a wuss.

"Who's going to do it? You know that won't work." Jared said to Jacob before she heard Seth intervene.

"But what if we put those two together-"

"Wait I thought we were working on the task force still?" Paul asked flustered.

"We are, but we can't have people butting heads or egos for that matter if we put all the peacekeepers in the task force." That was Jacob.

"Paul's not a peacekeeper, put him in the task force." Quil said that and was earned a growl from the man in question.

"Paul's strong, not fast. We already have Jake and Sam covering strength." Jared explained.

"Three strong, two fast remember. Add Paul with Jake and me." Sam corrected. Jared was quick to comply before another voice rose over the room.

"What about Tre and Myra?" _Finally Embry decides to speak up. _"They know the inner workings of the enemy, and they're fast, put them on the task force for your speed." There was silence when he explained. Leah could almost feel Seth's apprehension.

I'm not sure if Myra should-" he started before Tamyra turned and interrupted already knowing what he was about to say.

"Don't worry about me." She waved Seth off but before he could protest, Embry spoke again.

"You guys are obviously writing off the girls. They're not going to be pregnant at the battle, and they are two of our fastest. Put one in the task force and one on the field." He said, confidence building with each word. He walked towards the table and the volume increased again. Leah's angle of view let her see Jacob's hidden smirk as Embry approached. Sam and Jared moved over to give him room and the discussions continued. Tamyra gave Leah a look that seemed to say, 'Well?' Leah rolled her eyes and pushed herself out of her uncomfortable chair. She groaned and approached the table.

"Em's right guys. Put me and Myra as your speeders." She pinched her brother's arm to stop him from protesting again but it didn't stop someone else.

"No." Most heads whipped around at the sound. "Leave, Myra and Leah in the field. I'll be in the task force." _Tre. _Leah glared at him as he approached slowly.

"We'll need another fast-"Quil started before Tre cut him off.

"You only need one sprinter. I can handle it. Jake, Sam, Paul, and I should be enough."

"Should is not good enough, we want better odds then three experienced leaders versus our four. Five is better for us." Embry explained. Leah didn't break her glare with Tre.

"I assure you, I'll be enough." She knew that tone, his mannerisms. She wasn't sure if she'd ever noticed it before but she was noticing it now. _That over protective jerk!_

"What makes you think it'll be safer in the field then it will in the task force?" Leah asked suddenly placing her hands on her hips. Tre tried to feign ignorance but Leah called him out on it. "Don't 'what ?'me! I know you're getting all macho because you're worried about m-_us_ getting hurt!" She said pointing between herself and Tamyra. This news interested everyone especially since Tre didn't deny anything.

"If it was really up to me you wouldn't be fighting at all!" Tre growled back. Leah saw her brother immediately nodding his head in agreement, but she punched him in the arm and he stopped. "It's not just…_that_. You two will be instrumental when the first wave hits the field. I can do what you two would on the force, that way we're not messing up the balance." _So now he's cocky._

"You don't have any grounds to be arrogant."She hissed back feeling her anger rise.

"No, it's not that. I'm saying that I can _literally_ do what you two could and would." Leah scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Everyone was waiting for him to explain. "I'm not sure how but-"

"Perhaps I should explain." A velvety voice flitted across the room. Leah wanted to laugh because a few people gasped having forgotten that the Cullens were at the meeting. Between their silence, and the fact that their smell had long since been saturated with the wolves' it was as if they weren't even there. Edward raised his hand as he stepped forward. Sue nodded her head. "My brother and I" Edward gestured towards the unmoving Jasper, "have been observing Tre for some time now, before and after his disappearance. We discussed it with him and my father at length, what we've noticed and although it took some time we came upon some intriguing news. It would appear that Tre has the ability to absorb information and characteristics." Edward paused. "I spoke with my wife about it and she immediately suggested that it is similar to a vampire gaining a special ability." _Of course, Bella still found a way into the meeting without being here. _Edward shot her nasty look in response to her thoughts.

"Do you remember how I said I learned all that stuff from Clarice, the healing and the mind blocking?" Tre was questioning Leah directly. She nodded. "I didn't learn it so much as I just absorbed it from her mind." Edward continued talking to the room.

"I first suspected the anomaly during one of our early interactions. If you remember back to when he was still struggling with his alpha tendencies, we raced. I'd been reading his mind and it was as if he could almost feel my probing."

"When I am mentally attached to someone in anyway I am prone to absorb their characteristics." This statement from Tre stood out to Leah.

"Wait, does that mean you've…you've absorbed from me?"

"Yes. I believe my added strength came from you. Amongst other things…"

"His body has gone through rapid change because it is as if he is doing the wolf change that you all did prior to your first phase." Carlisle explained.

"What other things?" Leah asked Tre.

"I believe…the growling and howling comes from you as well." He said this lower, but a few of the wolves were snickering.

"Does that mean you're turning into a wolf?" Leah asked seriously. She wasn't sure if she'd like the answer.

"No…I'm just acquiring some of your attributes." He explained.

"Does that mean you're turning into a girl?" Paul teased causing another round of chuckling. Tre didn't bother answering him.

"He's acquired some of mine as well. When we raced, the fact that I was probing his mind, actually allowed him to temporarily acquire some of my vampiric traits." Edward elaborated.

"What type of traits, he's not a vam-" Sue asked worriedly.

"No, as we raced I noticed he didn't tire like he should have, his stamina mirrored mine when he should have been breathless. It's strange and interesting. If he were a vampire, he would probably have the ability to steal and copy others' abilities." The news sent everyone into shock. Tre, in a matter of months had gone from some underdog panther alpha to the ultimate weapon. He was a force to be reckoned with. Leah found the news both unnerving and comforting. She was knocked from her thoughts when her brother had the most unexpected response.

He laughed. He doubled over laughing actually, and Leah worried for his sanity.

"Think about it guys," more laughter," the vampires get their abilities from their strongest human trait." He slapped his knee. "Before Tre was an alpha, he was the ultimate conformer. Myra told me." That's when realization hit. _Tre is being forced to conform to anyone he is connected to mentally. _Leah laughed a little as did a few others although Seth's remained the loudest. "He's being rewarded for being a total pansy." Leah laughed out loud at both her brother's statement and the fact that he was the one to say it. Others burst out laughing at that, even Carlisle. Leah glanced at Tamyra and saw that her mouth was twitching in an attempt to fight off her amusement and maintain her composure. Tre just looked annoyed although he didn't really mind being the butt end of jokes. _Or he's just gotten used to it. _Jacob recovered from his laughter first and began reigning everyone back in to the planning. A few other wolves and some elders joined the table. Seth called Jasper over, remembering his fighting expertise. She noticed that the planning didn't interest most of the younger wolves except for Brady, Collin, and Solomon. The latter two stood together offering suggestions to the table that were more than not, disregarded. Leah stayed for a while but once the guy's discussion turned more toward a testosterone showdown she backed away. She didn't notice the presence that had followed her.

"Leah."

"Edward," She returned the dry greeting. She turned to look at him.

"It's nice to see them all working together, despite the circumstances." Leah nodded. He didn't say much after that, just remarking on the dynamics of different relationships between people. _Who are you, Jasper? _He only responded with a chuckle. She watched as Billy rolled toward them.

"Leah my girl, how are you and the baby?" Leah half smiled, then grimaced when the baby kicked really hard. She rubbed her stomach.

"I was fine til the thing decided to wake up." She joked. Billy and Edward smiled a little. Billy turned his attention toward the vampire.

"You know, he could be a very important asset if you're correct about his ability." Billy had needlessly lowered his voice. _Someone else recognizes the potential of his power._

"I understand, as does he. He wants to be used in the place where he can be the most beneficial."

"Can he control what he absorbs?" Leah found herself asking.

"No. Not at the moment anyway. His mind seems to be pretty random when it comes to picking up characteristics." Billy nodded in understanding. Leah stared straight ahead. If that power had anything to do with his alpha, she knew it wasn't random. She shook her head.

"That alpha's planning something."

* * *

A/N: Such a looong chapter...I prob have carpal tunnel now anyway if this chapter is confusing...lemme know and I'll stop being lazy and actually clean it up :)

oh yes shout out to X5-452 for nominating The DimPrint *woot* for Indie Twific Awards! yeah there are some cool stories on that list I'm gonna read em... eventually ;)

oh yeah a lot of stuff that happened in Bliss and Agony is being referenced, just in case you guys forgot


	22. Chapter 21

"So which group did you get?" Seth asked Quil as the two casually walked towards the LaPush forest line. The battle meeting had only been a few days ago but this was the first night patrol the two had together since then.

"I'm with Jared," he paused to take another bite out of his apple he'd been eating. "And that kid from Sam's pack with the fluffy hair." He took another bite while Seth nodded his head in comprehension. "When we had those get to know you circles, I asked if I could touch his hair. Bastard had enough gall to tell me no!" Quil took an angry bite out of his apple while Seth shot him a look of disbelief.

"He told you no?"

"Yeah! Then had the nerve to tell me that he wasn't into me like that! Doesn't matter," Quil said with a shrug,"I leant over when Jared started talking to him about his lack of speed and touched it anyway." Seth gasped.

"How'd it feel?" Seth asked genuinely curious. Quil took a few more bites before responding.

"Darn kid's got a feather pillow on his head, I was so jealous!" He finished his apple then ripped his sweat pants off. Seth did the same and they were both phased. _I'll take the west and you take the east?_

_Sure. _Seth trotted off in the opposite direction of Quil. He didn't run his route very fast, finding his wolf form to be oddly comforting. It helped release the stress that battles and parenthood brought on.

_How are you and the misses doing? _Quil only half joked. Seth did a replay in his mind of every mood swing and half hearted 'fight' they'd gotten into. And by fight Seth meant _Dude you really burnt her toast? Who does that? _Seth wasn't very appreciative of his friend's ridiculing remarks.

_I was distracted okay?_

_By what? _Seth answered him unwillingly when a flash of his imprint's rather revealing night clothes flooded both their minds. _Whoa dude, keep that under wraps. _Seth growled. _Seriously though,_ _how long were you staring?_ Quil's mental laughter only served to annoy Seth. He decided to get back to concentrating on his route. He at first focused on his surroundings but his mind drifted to the game he'd been watching with Charlie the night before. Quil immediately recognized the game from his friend's mind as he screamed bloody murder. _Dude! Stop! _Seth actually stopped running.

_Wha-_

_Don't tell me what happened in that game! I Tivoed it and I plan on going home and watching it tonight! _Of course as soon as Quil mentioned the end of the game, Seth couldn't help the image of the winning score. _Oh for crying out loud! Seth c'mon man I told you not to!_

_Sorry man I couldn't help it you-_

_Why couldn't you just shut your loud brain up?! _Quil was screaming mentally and growling a little. Seth quickly hid the slight hurt he felt from his friend's verbal assault. _What I wouldn't give for an alpha command right now._

_It's not that big a deal. _

_Not that big a deal?_

_Look I'll make it up to you. The next game day, we'll watch it toge-wait did you say you had Tivo? _Quil's mental ranting stopped immediately.

_Yeah, well actually my granddad got it last week! _Quil replied excitedly. Seth returned the enthusiasm, their argument quickly forgotten. _I was so stoked when he told me._

_Parties are officially at Old Quil's. _Seth concluded earning a laugh from Quil.

_I know right? _Seth didn't respond as he immediately picked up a scent. When a he recognized it, a face immediately flashed in both their minds. _Seth what's your sister doing out there? _Quil asked curious. Seth could tell that he'd slowed on his own route to watch Seth investigate.

_I don't know, I'm gonna check it out. _Seth followed his sister's scents, careful to only follow fresh scents as he'd caught whiffs of older ones that belonged to her as well. _Someone's been coming out here a lot. _He continued on his impromptu mission, patrol route forgotten. He slowed when he realized the scent led to the outskirts of the beach. He got as close as he could to the tree line with being visible when he caught sight of two figures walking along the shore. _I'm gonna phase._

_Wait Seth- _Quil's protest was cut off when Seth was back in human form. He scurried to a nearby log. He hid his body behind it as he watched the two figures. As they drew closer he realized that it was Leah and Sam. They were walking side by side. Leah was wearing, what Seth recognized to be one of his hoodies along with a pair of her own low riders. Sam was in a pair of his cut off shorts and a tee shirt. They were talking but Seth was far enough to remain undetected and deaf to their words. He could only imagine what Leah would do to him if she caught him spying. "What's going on Seth?" Along with Quil.

"Quil, shouldn't you still be patrolling?" Seth asked a little annoyed.

"Shouldn't you?" Quil countered. Seth didn't fight back. "Don't worry, I think Jared and Paul are patrolling anyway." Seth somehow wasn't very comforted by the fact. Leah's feet had just got wet by the tide. Sam playfully nudged her and Seth heard her giggle. "Did Leah really just giggle?" Quil asked. Seth warily nodded his head, not quite sure if he believed the sound either. He was snapped out of his daze when he heard a rustling come from behind them.

"Hey guys, what'd we miss?" It was Collin who spoke, being trailed by Brady who was carrying an extra large bag of popcorn. Before Seth could question him on his food choice, Quil spoke.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Brady seated himself next to Quil while Collin went to crouch next to Seth.

"Spying." Brady replied as he popped a kernel into his mouth. The sound was annoyingly loud and Seth popped his head back over the log to make sure they hadn't been detected. Leah had just run a hand through Sam's hair and Seth suddenly wondered how Fluffy Hair guy's fur felt. His thoughts were distracted by Brady again. "We've been doing that spying crap you guys told us to do a while back."

"Yeah, we'd mainly been scoping out Sam's place, not much drama there." Collin continued. "Usually Embry, Sam, Jared, and Paul meet there, but tonight, after Jared and Paul went to patrol and Embry went home we saw Sam get all dressed up-"

"So we followed him out here." Brady interrupted. Seth had completely forgotten about the job he and Quil had passed down to the younger two wolves. He didn't bother telling them that it was pretty much useless now that the packs had been working together so much.

"Yeah we would have been here earlier had doofus not decided to go home and pop a bag of corn before heading out." Collin said genuinely annoyed that his friend had cost them so much time. Brady wasn't effected, he simply shrugged and inhaled another mouthful. "So can you pick out what they're saying?" Collin asked, down to business. Seth would have laughed had he thought it wouldn't blow their cover. Simultaneously all four heads raised to eye level with the top of the log. Sam and Leah were in deep conversation. Seth strained his ears to pick up the conversation.

"…think it'll… good… socialized like … to do before…" Seth heard Quil repeat Sam when he'd said socialized.

"…like hang out?" Leah asked and Collin questioned Sam's ability to hangout. Brady stifled a laugh. "..fore…a dad?" Leah continued.

"Before… were pregnant?"Sam questioned while revealing a slight smile.

"Before when…leading a pack…wolves?" Seth figured they were talking about each other but he couldn't understand where the conversation was going.

"… you weren't either?"

"Before-"

"Before _her._" Seth saw Sam's face fall when he spoke. They were both looking down at their feet. Sam looked back up at her and was about to say something but Seth was distracted by one of his friends speaking.

"What does he mean by hangout? Do you think they'll get back together?" Brady asked in general.

"That's what it sounds like." Collin offered. Quil shook his head.

"Leah's probably not going to just go back to him that easily." He said but Collin wasn't convinced,

"She looks pretty cozy right now."

"This is Leah we're talking about. She's gonna make him work back up to this point." Jacob said.

"Maybe it's the hormones. Myra told me that her pregnancy has been affecting her moods and certain personality traits." Brady said. Seth wasn't sure if it was the fact that they were discussing his sister's life like it was a soap opera or that Brady had been having private discussions with his imprint about her hormones, but he exploded in a harsh whisper.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I want to hear what's going on and make sure my sister is not about to throw her life away again!" Seth could feel all eyes on him but then a thought occurred to him. _Wait a minute- _"Jake, when in the world did you get here?" He was sitting cross legged right next to Brady, reaching for a handful of popcorn. Jacob answered without looking at him.

"I got here sometime between Leah being a dad and Sam being pregnant…or was it the other way around?" Jacob shrugged and shoved the popcorn in his mouth.

"Why didn't I hear you?"Seth asked.

"I'm an alpha, I'm stealthy." Jacob replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What brings you out here this late at night bro?" Quil questioned.

"I left the Cullen's a few minutes ago and smelt my entire pack out here and thought, hey, there's no way they are gonna have a party without the alpha." He said jokingly although he kept a straight face. "Also to nag on my third and fourth in command for skipping out on their patrolling duty." Jacob grabbed some more of Brady's popcorn. "You guys leave me out of all the good stuff."

"Hey, well if you ever try crossing over to this side of the Mason Dixon line every once in a while we'd fill you in on the gossip." Quil said quick to call Jacob out on his own faults. Jacob huffed. Seth took advantage of the momentary silence to continue his spying.

"Maybe… isn't… best time. You want … out for Leo and… focus on my baby." Leah said not quite meeting Sam's eyes.

"… help each other out… that too. You said we… other. We can… raising the kids."

"Did Sam just ask Leah to have his babies?" Seth rolled his eyes as he recognized Paul's voice. He turned just as he and Jared crawled from the woods. "Jare, see I told you they're not patrolling either why do we have to?" Apparently, Paul and Jared were just arguing over shirking their duty. Paul must have won.

"That's… big jump Sam. I don't even know… the father… kid's life. And I… feeling guilty that it's… Seth… he'll probably always… Myra and Sahara."

Seth's ears perked up at the sound of his name. He had a hunch as to why Leah had mentioned him but the guys had interpreted her words differently. "Seth you're the father?" Paul asked as he ripped the bag of popcorn out of Brady's hands. The younger wolf whimpered but didn't cry out. "That's just sick!" Paul tipped the bag up to his mouth. Jared smacked Paul on the shoulder.

"That's not what she meant idiot!" Jared managed to wrestle the bag out of Paul's hands with minimal noise. Brady and Collin instantly converged on it.

"Then… the father, I'll… male babysitter."

Paul almost choked on his popcorn just as Jacob and Jared said "Sam can't babysit."

"Sam you don't…to babysit. Then there's…matter with Tre-" Leah explained.

"Oh yeah now she's bringing on the baby daddy stuff. This should get interesting." Quil said as he leaned forward slightly.

"What does he… anything?" Sam's expression turned to one of digust.

"Technically… the baby's father so-" Leah tried explaining softly but Sam cut her off.

"No, he's…some weirdo rapist… know… not welcome… the crime's committed... have half a mind to… thrown in jail… battle… over." Sam was fuming and Seth could pick out the slight trembles going through his body.

"Guys I'm gonna take an educated guess and say Sam doesn't like Tre." Brady said as he tried to fish the last bits of popcorn out of the bag.

"Naw, you think?" Jacob said sarcastically. Brady reached to hit him but missed.

"I mean that's not hard to understand, no one likes Tre." Paul stated.

"I actually kind of like him." Collin said and everyone turned to look at him. "I mean before he went psycho and everything he was kinda cool." Everyone just kept looking at him. "Seriously guys, everyone makes mistakes, I'm just thinking about his good side." None of the eyes had shifted from him. "Fine okay, boo with Tre." Everyone relented. Seth didn't want to say he could understand where his friend was coming from because he still wasn't sure how he felt about the guy. He just wanted everyone to be quiet so he could hear what his sister was saying.

"What is… you two? I'm… only one… rights to treat him… crap! What'd… to you?" Seth could see Leah starting to get agitated with Sam. She took a step away from him and placed her hands on her hips.

"He hurt you! … he can do it again. I've seen… look defeated before and I knew… my fault that look... I never… it again." Sam's trembling subsided a little.

"Funny…he… much the same thing." _Tre said that to her? _Seth could almost hear the similar question ringing through his pack mates' minds.

"What?" Sam shrieked.

"I don't need the flippin protection from you too. He's already riled up cause I'm carrying his kid, I guess that's some dumb territorial thing but you Sam, you have no right to do that because one I'm not your imprint and two this isn't your kid. So don't go all alpha wolf or beta wolf or whatever the freak you are on me! You want us to have some sort of relationship? Fine! But I'm not playing this tug of war game with you and Tre because I will do just fine without either of you!" Seth and his friends watched as Leah finished her passionate and gesture filled speech and effectively stomped away from Sam down the coastline. Her head was held high the entire time and Seth couldn't help the pride that crept up to his face. Sam's head arched back as he stared at the sky. He let out a loud sigh once Leah was out of view.

"Don't you guys think someone should be guarding LaPush and Forks?" Sam called to the guys in hiding. They all stood up looking sheepish. He heard Paul and Jared muttering apologies. When they revealed themselves, Sam smirked and crossed his arms. "You better be glad Leah's senses are dulled by her pregnancy or she would've rung all our necks."

* * *

A/N: I think the reason I can type the Seth/Quil stuff so easily is because it's in the same manner I have conversations with my brother...thats almost disturbing :p


	23. Chapter 22

"Now take a deep breath in," the soothing voice of the woman said as she raised her shoulders in an exaggerated movement. "And exhale…yes that's right. Feel the ambiance." Leah rolled her eyes as the woman congratulated the blond couple near her on having working lungs. Leah attempted to adjust her position on the uncomfortable mat she'd been sitting on for the last half hour. The shuffle of movement didn't go unnoticed by the woman as she stalked over to Leah and scolded her for moving into such a hindering position. "Sit up and keep your knees slightly bent. You don't want to put needless discomfort on the baby." The woman reached down and tapped Leah's knees for emphasis. Leah's short temper flared and she started to move to attack the woman.

_Cool it Leah. _Tamyra thought to her without sparing a glance. Leah glanced to her right where Tamyra sat on her mat, eyes closed as she continued her exercises.

_It wasn't my idea to come to this stupid birthing class. _Leah thought back. _And if that woman touches me again I'm gonna-_

"Darling, do your breathing exercises." Sue ordered her daughter.

"I _am_ breathing! See!" Leah whispered over her shoulder to her mother and demonstrated by exhaling two quick breaths.

"No no Miss Clearwater, that's not correct. We don't want you to hyperventilate during the delivery." The woman or teacher of the class attempted to scold Leah again but her normally soothing voice came out teasing. It caused a few of the other couples in the class to chuckle. Leah loudly sucked her teeth in response. "Now I want the coaches to position themselves directly behind the mothers. And mothers I want you to lean back so that you are comfortably supported in their arms. Yes…that's right straight back. It shows that you trust your partner to be there for you throughout labor and delivery…" Leah scoffed as leant back into her mother's arms. She peeked to the right to see Seth gently cradling Tamyra's upper body as well.

"Leah. Dear stop being so rude." Leah didn't respond although she really wanted to nag about being dragged all the way to Seattle to have some high hippie woman tell her how to have a normal birth. _Ha! This birth is not going to be normal. _

_How do you know that for sure? _Tamyra questioned her, drowning out the woman's explanation of dilation. _We could go through a very normal birthing process._

_What part of 3 month pregnancy do you not understand? _ Tamyra didn't grant her a response.

"Now I know that many of you have already chosen alternative birthing methods. There are those of us who will be doing the traditional vaginal delivery in the hospital or with a midwife." Leah couldn't help the image of Emily that slipped into her mind. "And some of you will be having a planned Cesarean section. I know the Smiths and the Johnsons are doing a water birth."

"A water birth?" Leah heard her brother whisper to Tamyra, too low for any humans to hear. "Won't the baby drown?" Leah's palm went directly to her forehead and struggled to hide her laughter when she noticed that Tamyra had responded in the exact same manner.

"No idiot. The baby will get snatched up almost immediately, not to mention it's basically been living in water for months now." Leah explained as her brother looked down embarrassed.

"And who amongst us is going the natural route?" The woman asked as nearly half the class raised their hands. Leah couldn't stop the audible scoff that left her throat. A few people turned to look at her questioningly. She retorted with an awe inspiring eye roll.

"Miss Clearwater?" Leah's head snapped up toward the teacher. "Do you have a question?" The woman didn't bother to hide the annoyance in her voice. Leah looked to Tamyra before answering.

_In your pack, when the women gave birth, did their healing powers save them from labor pains?_

_Nope. _Leah could almost hear her mentally popping her 'p'. _Although they kicked in really well after delivery. We'll get our figures back in no time. _ Leah turned back towards the teacher.

"I was just admiring the…bravery of all these nice people. You know going with the whole no-shot-in-the-spine chant and what not." Leah said, her attempt at cordiality nearly made Seth choke from silent laughter. Sue unnoticeably pinched her daughter as a warning. The teacher didn't find Leah amusing.

"And what, may I ask Miss Clearwater are _your_ birthing plans?" The woman crossed her arms awaiting Leah's response. Leah smirked.

"Personally I plan on marching up to that blood…_y_ doctor and demanding my drugs before they even give me that paper dress." Sue's head dropped in embarrassment, and Leah noticed her friend and brother fighting really hard to hold in their chuckles. _It's their fault, they keep encouraging me. _Leah mentally whined to her mother knowing she didn't approve of her actions. The teacher obviously had enough of Leah's antics and returned to her other students.

"Now class remember there can be unexpected events during the last trimester and during birth. For example there's the case of the baby being breech…"

"What did she just say about the baby being a beach?" Seth whispered to Tamyra again. Her shoulders promptly shook with laughter.

"She said breech, baby." Seth stared at her blankly. "You know, breech, like the baby coming out feet first." Seth's eyebrows scrunched.

"Is that bad?"

"It can be. I hear it's painful and can be dangerous for the baby." Seth's eyes widened.

"Well is our baby …you know coming out the right way?" He asked quickly, panic lacing his voice.

"I don't know yet Seth, I'm not in labor. Dr. Cullen hasn't said anything about her position being wrong. Seth exhaled. Leah shook her head. _Poor kid's got no idea what's in store for him. _

"No matter what happens, we want to make sure we've at least taken the precautions and made plans for different instances the very first being-" The teacher held her hands out the class.

"The hospital bag." The class answered together. The teacher nodded approvingly. Leah tuned the teacher out again, accepting the fact that Alice and Rosalie had long since prepared nearly ten different bags for her stay while in the Cullen's care. She day dreamed for a few moments until the teacher started emphasizing the importance of the partnership again. Leah glanced around and realized most of the pairs were married couples or significant others. They began giving each other loving looks and gestures, a hand-hold here, a caress there. Leah didn't dare to look at the two next to her assuming whatever they were doing would be the most intimate moment she'd seen outside of closed doors. She sighed.

_How are things with Sam? _Leah jumped a little at the intruding thought. She hesitated then turned to look at Tamyra, who had no doubt finished her canoodling with Seth and was now looking at her curiously and innocently.

_Fine I suppose. He wants us to hang out again, like we did in the good ole days. _Leah explained.

_And? What did you say? _Leah shrugged.

_I know it wont be the same but I said I'd try as long as he stops this protective crap. _Leah saw Tamyra nod in understanding. _He even suggested that we raise our kids together. _Leah mentally scoffed the idea.

_What like a family? _Tamyra asked unbelieving.

_I dunno what goes on in that mind of his, but that was where I drew the line. Trying to be my friend is one thing, trying to be my kid's father is something entirely different. _Tamyra seemed to ponder the information before responding.

_It wouldn't hurt if they came in the same package would it? _The thought surprised Leah. Although she wished that her lover and baby's father were one in the same, she had yet to vocalize it. Her silence only proved to confirm her wishes to the other girl. Before they settled into a mental silence Leah 'spoke' again.

_I'm surprised you're so agreeable with this. You were ready to rip my throat out a few months ago because I was fraternizing with Sam. _Tamyra shrugged which signaled to Seth that they were having a mental conversation. He looked at them curiously.

_Yeah, well who am I to deny a girl some happiness. _Tamyra paused and Leah fought the warm fuzzy feeling that was settling in her stomach. _Besides, after being your bound-friend-dimprint thing for so long, I trust you'll do what's right for you. I mean who else do we know that has healed from a broken heart the natural way? _Leah knew what she meant by natural. The guys had all recovered from broken hearts via imprint magic. She didn't have such luck. She gave up on her fuzzy feeling fight although she didn't let the joy show on her face. _You're strong for a reason Leah. _Tamyra's thoughts trailed off. Leah let the ghost of a smile cross her face although she wrote it off as a smirk when she caught her brother and now her mother staring at them with a quizzical look. Before either of the girls could answer the unspoken question the teacher's voice broke them out of their daze.

"Alright class, now we'll discuss the wonderful world that is the uterus…"

* * *

A/N: I'll try to get the next chapter out later...since I did another MIA thing. Oh and I need opinions on something. I'm thinking about going through and writing scenes from the series in different POVs. I want to know who would actually read those because if no one really wants to see it I might not do it. I was just wondering because I wanted to do a few scenes outside of Leah/Seth but didn't want to overload the story with 30 people talking. Like for example: I wanted to do Emily's death from Sam's POV (just to see if I could do something that heavy) and I know a while back someone asked for a Tre POV. Yeah I'm not gonna redo the whole story, just a few scenes that happened or were mentioned. If you have any suggestions or would like to see me do that then lemme know. I wouldn't make a separate story, just add them to the ends of whichever book they tie to. Thanks guys! :)


	24. Chapter 23

Leah had begun to feel freer after the birthing class heart to heart she had with Tamyra. She even agreed to a few outings with Sam. She wasn't sure why she felt better having the girl's approval and trust but she accepted nonetheless. After Sam had treated her to a few restaurants, picnics, and shopping days, she felt her demeanor improve simply from the fact that she now had some semblance of a social life. Although she was having fun she was careful to guard her heart, not letting any old emotions roar back to life that could crush her in the long run. She knew that the outings were having a positive effect on Sam as well. She could see how his normally dead eyes would flicker back to life when she was in the room and how he'd lower his guard and let a smile cross his face sometimes. If that wasn't enough proof she'd had an interesting house call one day. She recalled going to the door late one Thursday night and quirked an eyebrow when she saw who it was.

"Solomon?" She asked taking in his normal wolf attire and face breaking grin.

"Leah I want to thank you on behalf of the pack for turning Sam back into a human friggin being!" was all he said before quickly hugging Leah and running off before she could scold him for touching her. She'd learned later from Jacob that Sam was starting to act more like his old self, not with the same intensity but he was more tolerable. He'd even asked Embry to go easy on the pack one day because the younger wolves had expressed academic stress from upcoming exams. Leah smiled to herself. Even if they weren't exactly a couple, she was pleased with her ability to reignite his once doused light.

* * *

_Do you think everything happens for a reason? _Seth was jolted out of his thoughts by Jacob's sudden question. They were running patrol together. Originally Seth was supposed to be running with Quil but he'd gotten a surprise visit from Claire and her family so he asked to swap with Jacob.

_Wha?_

_I mean, I'm starting to see a pattern. I was just thinking about how I imprinted on Ness and everything and all that stuff that happened before and no matter how much I look at it, there just seems to be this straight line of events leading up to that. And then I thought about your sister…_ Jacob's thoughts trailed from words to pictures. Seth watched as his alpha flashed different 'landmarks' in Leah's life from his point of view. His thoughts skewed to a certain former alpha. _I mean it's funny how he broke up with her and pretty much unintentionally left her for dead. _Seth winced at the onslaught of their joint memories of her at that time._ And now she's the one bringing him back to life. Huh…_

_Was there a point to that epiphany? _Seth couldn't stop the question from forming, not quite sure where Jacob was going with his train of remained mentally silent, preferring to dwell on the vibrant color of a tulip near him. Seth mentally sighed. He started thinking about how he hadn't warmed to the idea of Leah getting so close to her ex. He couldn't help the thought that in a way Sam was using Leah so he could function again. And if that was the truth, he wouldn't just sit back and accept it.

_If Sam is using Leah, I guarantee you, none of us are going to just sit back and let it happen. The girl's been through enough. _Seth agreed with his latter thoughts. Seth began thinking back to how he'd felt the same when he found out that Jacob had imprinted, and how happy he'd been for him. _Aww thanks man. _Seth smiled.

_Do you ever regret it? _The new voice startled both. Neither had felt Leah phase and Seth immediately cowered hoping she hadn't heard his earlier thoughts. She ignored his concerns, focusing her questioning on Jacob. Jacob didn't understand until Leah trudged up one of his own memories of when he first imprinted.

_No. _He answered with as much certainty as he could muster. Leah wasn't convinced.

_I mean, if you had the capability to look at the imprint from your old point of view, do you think you would regret it? _Jacob sorted through the question this time. Even going so far as to try and bring up memories of when he was pining after Bella. Seth found it strange that even the memories came up blurry. They seemed superficial, almost as if he wasn't sure they'd happened. Leah helped him by recognizing some of the memories and bringing up clearer accounts from her own memory bank. Seth wanted to laugh at how Jacob watched in awe of how his own pre imprint life played by. It was as if he couldn't fathom the thought of life before Renesmee. He recalled briefly how Bella had said her human memories were hazy.

_Funny how similar we are to the vampires in some respects. _Seth thought. Leah sighed and stopped her recollections. He'd obviously answered her question. Seth could tell that she was satisfied by the truth of the answer but perhaps not the answer itself.

_I wonder why she brought that up now…

* * *

_

"Okay guys I think we're done for the day." Jacob announced to both packs. They'd just finished their Friday training. A few of the wolves cheered half heartedly. Others were grinning finally having their weekend start. Leah looked questioningly at Solomon as he darted into the Cullen's house, grabbed his book bag and all but sprinted in the direction of the reservation.

"He has a study table to attend in five minutes." Edward answered her unspoken question.

"On a Friday night?" Leah asked as she looked at Edward doubtfully.

"I believe that he has to go to the young woman's house for the session." Edward explained.

"Of course, a study date. How cute." Leah remarked sarcastically as she passed by Edward's position on the porch and headed into the Cullen mansion. She glanced back and saw that most of the LaPush wolves were headed straight into the woods to go back home while her pack stayed. She was surprised to find Embry, Jared, and Paul lingering as well. They were talking in a group with Jacob and Quil. She noticed that Seth and Brady were headed in her direction, probably on a mad hunt to find where Tamyra had stationed herself for the last hour of training.

"Hey sis, do you know where-" Seth started to question but Leah cut him off.

"Kitchen." She said quickly. Both boys nodded their head and went farther into the house. Leah wandered through the living room for a few minutes before Jacob burst in through the front door.

"Hey momma Beta." He said grinning evily. She matched his grin.

"Hey papa Alpha." Jacob laughed. It had been an inside joke between them ever since Jacob had agreed to take Sue's place as Leah's partner at one of her parenting classes they'd gone to recently. He earned the name after beating Seth in a diaper changing race.

"You're not even gonna be a dad! That's unfair!" Seth had whined and punched Jacob in the arm causing the rest of the class to laugh at them. Jacob had retorted by sticking out his tongue at the younger boy. Leah grinned at the memory.

"What's up Jake?" Leah asked noticing that he had entered the house with some urgency.

"Oh right. I was talking with the guys and we were gonna go on a long distance run later. Probably to Seattle or Canada. You wanna come?"

"Leah cannot come." Alice appeared at Leah's side answering for her. Jacob was about to question her when Rosalie appeared on Leah's other side.

"She's too far along in her pregnancy to go run with you mutts. Plus, you'd probably just abandon her in some city with your short attention spans."

"Wow Blondie I'm surprised you stayed focused enough to say short attention span." Leah was about to correct Rosalie for thinking she's fragile but Alice started speaking.

"Besides, she's got plans for tonight." Jacob looked confused. Leah grimaced realizing she hadn't told the guys in her pack about her plans. "And Rose and I have to get her ready so if you don't mind." Alice attempted to shoo Jacob. It took him a moment but he understood.

"Sure, just let me ask Seth and Brades if they want to come with me and the guys." Jacob disappeared into the kitchen. Leah allowed herself to be dragged upstairs not even bothering with the verbal fight she'd had with the girls when they first found out about her plans.

"There. All finished." Alice cooed as she spun Leah around in the chair so that the pregnant woman could see her reflection in the mirror. It had only taken Alice thirty minutes. Leah had planned to bark at the vampire for dolling her up in too much makeup but she was pleasantly surprised to find that Alice had only done a thin layer of makeup to make her natural beauty glow. She was wearing a forest green spaghetti strap silk dress. It flowed over baby bump. Leah was astonished although she feared that she was over dressed for her outing. _I look like I'm going to prom._

"If you don't like it I'm sure Sam will." Rosalie teased.

"I love it girls. Really." She admitted. Alice sprung towards her and hugged her lightly before Leah could protest. Rosalie crossed her arms over chest and smirked.

"Let's see how long he'll actually let you keep that dress on." Leah playfully smacked Rosalie, not expecting the vampire to actually be forced backwards. Rosalie looked at her questioningly. "You may want to give him a warning about your strength before you guys do anything rash."

"Shut up!"

* * *

"Leah has plans?" Seth nearly shrieked when Jacob told him. They were sitting in the kitchen with Tamyra and Brady. The latter two simply watching the back and forth.

"Yeah and they're plans that involve Leah getting dressed by Alice and Blondie." Jacob elaborated. Seth's eyes bugged.

"Like fancy plans?" Seth asked whispering. "With who?" As if on cue there was a knock at the front door. Edward moved to answer the door but Alice sprinted down the stairs and beat him to it.

"Sam, come in." Alice gestured him into the room. He hadn't been in the Cullen's house during the training days so it probably seemed appropriate to knock as opposed to just barging in. Seth got a glimpse of him through the kitchen archway and saw that he was wearing black slacks and a silk green collar shirt. When he passed by, Alice shot her head into the kitchen. "Thanks Myra for dropping that hint for me." Tamyra nodded. Seth wasn't sure what she'd meant so Tamyra mouthed that she'd tell him later. Seth and Jacob moved into the living room and watched as Leah was presented by Rosalie and Alice. Seth's jaw dropped. He couldn't recall when he seen his sister look so beautiful. He could faintly make out her blush although she was trying hard to plaster on an annoyed look. Rosalie helped her down the stairs. Sam had a huge grin on his face. It was then that Seth noticed the one rose in his hand. He handed it to Leah who took it, smelt it and ridiculed him for being a girl. He only smiled more at her teasing. Esme had appeared and started taking pictures with a digital camera, and Jasper had just emerged from some dungeon of the house probably being overloaded with pleasant feelings. Renesmee skipped in from a hallway and ran straight to Jacob. She jumped into his arms before gawking at Leah's attire.

"Aunty Leah you look beautiful!" She praised. Leah didn't bother to correct the girl on her title slip. "And so do you Mr. Sam." She added as an afterthought. Her sing song voice caused Leah and a few adults to laugh. Sam nodded his thanks. The two linked arms shortly after that and left the house. When the crowd started to disperse, Brady came over and snapped the frozen Seth out of his daze.

"My sister's going on a date with Sam?!"

* * *

A/N: So my fingers are feeling magical because I totally just finished the chapter after this as well...


	25. Chapter 24

"What will you be having ma'am?" The waiter asked Leah as she perused her menu. It had only taken them an hour to reach the restaurant in Port Angeles. Sam had made reservations the day Leah finally consented to going out with him. As much as she didn't want to recognize it as being a date, she knew there were too many implications as why it was one. Their matching colored clothing being a dead give away.

"I'll have the chicken fettuccine with a Caesar salad. Also can I have jalapenos added to the pasta?"

"Of course ma'am. And for you sir?" The waiter turned his attention to Sam who'd been gazing at Leah the entire time.

"I'll have the same. Minus the peppers." The waiter wrote the order and left them. Leah, feeling unsure of the way he was gazing at her, reached for her drink and slowly gulped half of it down. He continued to stare. She put the cup down and took a deep breath.

"Okay Sam, I'm gonna need you to stop staring at me like I'm some flippin work of art."

"I can't help it." He admitted causing Leah to blush a little. She quickly batted the fluttery feeling in her stomach down and put her serious face back on.

"Well can you at least try? I know the last date you were on was probably with Emily" he flinched "but normal people don't stare at their friends like they want to eat them instead of their meal." Leah finished. Sam's gaze had wavered in its intensity as soon as Leah had mentioned her cousin. Leah bit her lip as the guilt started creeping up. "Sam, I'm sorry but I don't want you to mistake what this is." She said as she motioned between the two of them.

"I'm not." He said and immediately leaned across the table to cup her face in his hands. His lips moved slowly across hers. Leah was still in a state of shock but responded anyway. The kiss wasn't as desperate as their other makeout sessions had been. Leah realized that this one had feeling behind it. It was intimate. Leah pulled away. Her thoughts swarmed. Sam looked at her questioningly. She cursed herself for letting guys be able to sneak up on her and always have such a shock factor. Tre inadvertently slipped into her thoughts with that one. "Leah I'm sorry, but I need to tell you something." Leah's anger flared.

"Tell me something? You don't just kiss me when I clearly said we were friends and try to seduce me into listening to you. You're no better than Tre, trying to take advantage of me!" Leah's eyes went wide when she realized what she had just said. _Crap, I didn't mean to let that last one slip._

"I'm nothing like him!" Sam said, his eyes darkening and Leah realized that he was truly pissed off. She calmed herself quickly realizing that one of them had to steer the conversation away from touchy subjects.

"Okay I didn't mean that last part, let's just enjoy the rest of our night." Sam nodded once his anger dissipated. Their food arrived and they ate in silence. After a while they were joking with each other again and Sam only stole glances at Leah when he thought she wasn't looking. Their earlier argument was quickly forgotten. Leah ended up ordering three of the five signature desserts. Sam watched as she enjoyed herself with the sweets. He smiled as she cursed some whip cream that fell onto her dress. They drove back to LaPush in a comfortable silence. Sam pulled into her driveway. He got out to open her door and help her out. She wobbled a little.

"Did you have fun?" Leah nodded. Sam smiled at her answer.

"Yeah Sam, I had a good time. Again I'm sorry about earlier. I never meant to-" Sam cut her off by putting a finger to her lips. He bent his neck so that he could place a light peck under her earlobe.

"Now's not the time to talk about such matters." He whispered in her ear. She couldn't stop the slight curve of her lips. Suddenly Leah remembered something from the restaurant.

"Sam, what were you going to tell me at dinner?" Sam frowned, not remembering. His face lit up again when he did.

"I was going to-" He stopped when his head whipped in the direction of the forest line. Leah figured he smelled something but her sense of smell hadn't been its best for the last few months so by the time she caught the scent, the owner had already appeared.

"Tre, what are you doing here?" Sam growled as Tre slowly approached from the nearby trees.

"I'm sorry Leah, for intruding. I was on my way here to ask you something. I didn't mean to be spying, I was just going to wait until Sam left to speak with you."

"What makes you think I was leaving?" Sam growled out. Leah didn't want to think about what Sam had just implied. Tre locked eyes with him. Leah caught his mouth moving slightly but her ears didn't pick up what he was saying to Sam. Sam evidently did, as he let out another threatening growl. Leah decided to intervene.

"Tre what did you need to speak to me about?" Tre hesitated. Leah figured he probably wanted to speak to her in private but she didn't care. _Whatever he has to say to me he can say in front of Sam. _

"I wanted to know if you'd thought anymore about what I requested." He said cryptically. Sam stopped his growling out of curiosity. It took Leah a moment to realize what he was talking about.

"About the baby?" Tre nodded. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I want you around the baby. I'm not sure who I want around the baby at all." Tre's eyes shot to the ground looking rejected. Leah hated how he could make her feel sorry for him. "We'll talk about it once the baby's here."

"I was just hoping-" Leah felt her mood swing. Her anger flared at how pitiful he was sounding.

"You were hoping what?" She asked harshly. Tre took in a breath. Leah made a gesture with her hand to tell him to hurry up. He didn't answer. She let out an aggravated breath. Sam followed suit by letting out a light growl. Tre retorted with a hiss. Leah rolled her eyes. Between the two guys she was getting fed up real fast. "Sam, what were you going to say?" She said now ignoring Tre and his passiveness. She caught Sam off guard.

"Oh well I was just…" he reached into his pocket. Before he could finish his statement Tre took in a sharp breath.

"I was hoping the baby could take my last name." Tre gushed. Leah whipped her head back in his direction. She wasn't sure if she believed what she had just heard. She could almost see her fuse dwindling.

"What did you just say?" She asked in part disbelief and part annoyance.

"I fully intend on being our child's father. I was just hoping the baby could take my name." Leah blinked rapidly. As opposed to responding to him she turned back to Sam hoping that Tre and his requests would simply disappear in the process.

"What were you saying Sam?"

"I…uh…er…" Sam stuttered. Leah grew even more annoyed.

"Oh c'mon Sam not you too! Just spit it out."

"Will you marry me?" He rushed as he pulled a black box out of his pocket. He flipped it open and revealed a ring. Leah didn't know how many emotions started to rush through her mind because before she could respond to either man... her water broke.

* * *

A/N: hehehehehe Guess I'll see you guys next month...

...j/k


	26. Chapter 25

Leah blanked. She stood there in her driveway staring off into space as her mind tried to wrap itself around the fact that somewhere in the middle of a question of namesake and a proposal she involuntarily peed her pants… or her dress for that matter.

"-eah are you alright?" She snapped back into reality when one of the guys' called to her, not quite sure which one it was. She looked up into Sam's eyes, which were watching her curiously. The small black box still in his hand and held out to her. Her eyes flickered to Tre who had evidently taken a few steps to get closer to her since he was no longer shrouded in the shadows of the forest line but in the middle of her front yard. He held a look of genuine concern.

"I…uh…" She had to get herself together. Leah's hands shot out in a way as if she were regaining her balance although the two could clearly see that she was perfectly stable. Tre took a few more steps and from his angle he got a clear view of her backside.

"Leah, your dress-" he started to explain but Leah cut him off not wanting to be in the awkward situation any longer.

"My water just broke," she said quickly. It took only a half a second for the words to settle in Sam's mind. His expression hardened then immediately turned to one of worry. _And dare I say panic. _It was a feeling she could not give into right now. Leah turned around to face her house. "Mom!" She yelled.

"She's not in there." Both guys answered at the same time. Leah frowned. Now she was starting to panic. _I am not about to have this baby without my mother! _

"Okay can one of you…" Leah trailed off not sure how to delegate orders in this state of mind but knowing she had to get both guys moving before she fell under the spell of panic stricken pregnant woman.

"Her freshest scent is about an hour old." Tre offered. Leah nodded quickly snapping into action.

"Sam, I need you to go get my mother. She'll probably be at Chief Swan's place. Get her and bring her to the Cullens. Is any of the pack around?" Sam shook his head quickly.

"They all ran to Seattle." _Crap! _Leah turned to Tre. She cringed looking at his awaiting face and the request she was about to make.

"Tre I need you to take me to the Cullens." He nodded and took a few quick yet cautious steps toward her ignoring Sam's warning growls. Leah placed a hand on his chest. "Please Sam? It would be better if you went to my mother. She…trusts you more, and I want her there as quick as possible." Sam nodded in understanding. He then closed the small box, shed his silk shirt and threw them into the car. He ran towards the forest line in the direction of Forks already starting to slip out of his slacks. Leah watched him go as Tre stood next to her.

"Do you want to uh…" he trailed off not quite sure how to proceed.

"Running would be faster." She breathed, already starting to feel the pain of her first few contractions. Tre didn't waste time. He gently scooped up her legs while supporting her back. He held her bridal style as he sprinted into the forest. Leah clung to his neck. The first wave of contractions hit her and she couldn't stop the reflex to bury her face in Tre's chest, her mouth open in a silent scream. Her nails dug into his shoulders but he didn't flinch even as a trail of blood ran down his right arm. When the pain settled some Leah couldn't help but think back to when she had to run Emily in a similar manner back to the reservation when she'd gone into labor in the woods. She noticed that Tre was running at an incredible speed and had managed to not stumble at all. Her ride to the vampire house was smooth, almost like they were gliding. She hated to admit how comfortable it felt in his strong arms. _Stop it Leah. This is no time to be thinking like this. _Fortunately…or unfortunately she was drawn out of her thoughts by another wave of pain rocking her body. She tensed her whole body digging deeper into flesh.

* * *

_I spy something…green. _Seth thought while members from both packs ran in the forests just outside of Seattle.

_Lemme guess…that tree? _Brady replied. Quil stopped running to bang his large wolf head repeatedly against a nearby oak. He was apparently sick of playing I Spy.

_Yeah you're right…_Seth answered not bothering to hide the fact that he'd actually been referring to a specific leaf about 30 feet in front of them and about ten feet up hanging off a strange slanted tree. _Quil we have nothing better to do since Jacob and Embry put that 'no fighting' rule on us. _

_The only reason I came on this stupid trip was so I could fight with Paul. _Collin admitted. Quil stopped his head banging.

_Well consider that alpha command your life saver pup._ Quil told him causing Seth to snicker. Brady shrugged.

_My turn! I spy something yellow…

* * *

_

Leah was panting heavily when she noticed Tre slow his pace. She figured they were near the mansion but she nearly screamed when he kept his long stride even all the way to the front door, which was opened at the last second. His sudden stop just inside the front door startled Leah especially when her organs weren't thrown out of whack.

"Leah's in labor." He yelled out the obvious. Instantly all of the vampires appeared in the room. Edward stepped from behind the front door having heard their thoughts and opened it. Alice was fussing over Leah as Tre held her. Jasper appeared to send a wave of calm out but Leah could barely feel its effects, her adrenaline already pumping in anticipation. She heard Carlisle yell down to them just as Esme appeared to escort them up. Emmett appeared with his hands out, ready to take Leah from Tre.

"I've got her." He insisted and Emmett backed down after no protest from Leah. Esme flitted up the stairs, Tre easily keeping pace with her. Esme led them into the room that would serve as the labor and delivery wing. She then noticed two beds side by side.

"We weren't sure how connected you and Tamyra were in term of the pregnancies." Edward answered her unspoken question from the hallway. Carlisle was being scrubbed by Rosalie, while Esme checked his tools and equipment. Edward pointed to the first bed and Tre immediately moved to lay Leah down. He backed away but stopped when Leah reached to grab his arm.

"Where's Myra?"

"I can smell her she'll be here in a few moments."

"Get Sam to phase and tell the pack what's going on." Tre nodded in understanding. Leah loosened her grip on his arm but didn't let go. "And don't forget to send my mom straight up when-"

"Don't worry Leah, everything will be under control. I'll send her right up. Just focus on the baby." Tre assured her. He placed a hand gently over top hers, massaged it then pulled away before she had time to realize what had happened. As soon as he left, Alice swept in and ripped Leah's silk dress off, then replaced it with a hospital gown. She'd done it so fast that Leah was already redressed before she felt the breeze of the initial rip. Edward and Rosalie pulled Leah's legs into the holsters. Leah panicked.

"Wait wait wait what about my drugs."

"There's no time for the epidural, you're cervix is fluctuating between 3 and 8 centimeters dilated." Carlisle explained with a little uncertainty in his voice.

"That's a pretty big gap don't you think?" Leah asked loudly.

"Leah, I felt it as soon as it happened." Tamyra said as she entered the room. She immediately went to Leah's left side. She held out her hand and Leah immediately gripped it as pain shot through her body. The girl hid her pain from Leah's grip well.

"Doc what's going on?" Leah managed through grit teeth.

"I don't know. Your body knows it's in labor but it is in a constant state of healing. Every time you get dilated enough to push, your body immediately tries to close the birth canal back up. It's a never ending cycle." Carlisle attempted to explain in as calm a manner as possible. Leah didn't like the news and inadvertently crushed the girl's hand she was holding. Tamyra only managed a small yelp of pain. "Tamyra have you observed this before?" The girl managed to regain her composure despite her brutalized fingers.

"No, the women in my old pack delivered and their healing powers worked after delivery. Then again, our healing powers are somewhat slower and weaker than that of the wolves." Tamyra explained as Carlisle nodded his head as if understood something.

"Talk to me." Leah panted. Carlisle looked at her over her stomach. He hesitated before answering.

"We're going to have to time this just right. Every time you have the sensation to push, you push. Don't hesitate." The order settled badly with Leah. Leah went to reach for Tamyra's hand again but noticed the girls' fingers. Leah was about to apologize before Tamyra stopped her.

"Better me than your mom."

"Where's Leah?!" Leah smiled when she heard the frantic yelling of her mother downstairs. She was surprised when her mother nearly instantly appeared in the room. Leah recognized Tre's blurred figure that had just carried her mother up the steps then just as quickly go out of sight. Sue quickly went to her daughter's side. She brushed away some hair on her face.

"Oh my baby how are you doing?" Sue asked, her voice heavy with love and concern.

"I'm…" Leah's words were cut off by a scream of her own. Leah faintly heard Tamyra explain to her mother what Carlisle had just relayed to them. She reached for the girl's hand. When she settled down again, Sue reached for her daughter's other hand but Edward intervened.

"I don't think that would be wise Mrs. Clearwater." He cautioned her. Leah tried to offer a smirk.

"Yeah mom, just look at poor Myra over here." Leah went to reach for the mutilated hand but was met with air. Leah turned to face the other girl. "Myra? What's-"

"Leah my water just broke." She whispered quickly. Her eyes were bugged as she stared down at the puddle on the floor. Both Edward and Esme started towards her to lay her in the other bed. Leah was distracted from her own pain when the girl let out an almost instinctive hiss towards them both. They hesitated but after she took a few breaths to calm herself they edged her onto the bed.

* * *

_I spy-_

_The blade of grass! It's the fiftieth flippin blade of grass that you've picked! _The game was slowly driving Quil insane. Brady mentally sighed having been bested by Quil once again but Seth had no pity on him considering the younger teen didn't know how to guard his thoughts while playing. They all clearly saw what he was looking at just before he started the round. Seth looked up when he noticed Embry's pack stop running. Jacob tuned everyone out as he alpha-linked with Embry.

_Sam just contacted Embry. Leah and Tamyra are in labor. _ Jacob broadcast. Seth was gone before anyone could say birthday.

* * *

"She's 9 right now!" Carlisle called to the room. Leah figured that meant she was ready to push. "It's not holding but you're jumping between 9 and 6 so we have to be ready." Carlisle elaborated quickly. Esme and Rosalie were currently restraining Tamyra on the bed, who'd been doing nothing but snarling and hissing for the past ten minutes. She was writhing around in the bed causing Edward to join the two female vampires in holding her down.

"What's wrong with her?" Leah managed to ask. She didn't have the energy to contact the girl mentally.

"I don't know. Her thoughts are very sporadic. I think this may be some of her protective nature kicking in but I'm not sure." Edward explained just as one of her legs kicked free of his grasp. Before Leah could question him further Carlisle interrupted her.

"Before I lose you completely to oblivion, is there anyone else you want in delivery with you?" He asked seriously.

"Did you have someone in mind to cut the umbilical cord?" Her mother asked her, trying to keep up a calm façade despite the struggling going on a few feet from them. Leah grimaced. She hadn't thought about that. Although in retrospect it didn't mean much, she still realized what cutting the cord represented. It was traditionally the father who did that part. Leah rolled her eyes.

"Can't I just cut it myself?" Leah asked. Carlisle looked at her questioningly.

"You'll probably be very tired. If you like I can snap it quickly." Leah knew the cut wasn't a binding document. She thought about who she would let cut the baby's umbilical cord. When she came to a decision, her vocal cords only emitted a scream as a new pain shot through her core. The pain dulled quickly. Leah realized soon that it was her signal to push. It was vibrating through her body like a wave. There was another loud shriek but this one Leah realized, didn't come from her. She looked over and saw Tamyra struggling harder, giving the three vampires currently holding her down a run for their money. The girl was trembling violently.

"She's fighting her phase." Leah said and as soon as she did, Tamyra's eyes shot open glowing that ghostly yellow they had so many months ago. She mustered a lot of strength and managed to throw all three vampires off of her. She jumped off the bed and crouched low daring them to come closer. None of them did.

"Get her out of here!" Carlisle yelled finding himself distracted between both patients. Edward hesitantly moved toward her but she let out a dangerous hiss before bounding from the room itself. Leah managed to catch a glimpse of her eyes changing back to normal before she disappeared. Leah heard the startled sounds of people downstairs, Tre's voice carrying farther than the others and the slamming of a door. "You should probably go after-"

"No she said she doesn't need help." Edward said.

"And you believed her?" Leah asked not believing that he would just let the girl run around while she was in labor.

"She wasn't malicious when she thought it to me. She was able to assure me that I would be completely useless during the process." Edward managed to calmly tell a flustered Leah. _I hope she knows what she's doing.

* * *

_

Seth ran through the trees, barely registering the fact that he'd passed into Forks in a third of the the time it should have taken him to get back, even while he was phased. He barely registered the blood on his paws that he had been so ruthlessly pounding into the forest floor over and over. The only thing the pack could sense from him was his need to get to his imprint. He eventually caught a scent. _Her scent. _And he nearly bowled over from his incredible momentum when he attempted to stop. He'd been heading in the direction of the Cullens but when he caught the obvious scent of his imprint in labor he skewed off into another direction. He took the time to analyze the fact that even if Jacob hadn't told him, he could obviously tell she was near birth. Her scent along with his sister's had been changed slightly throughout the pregnancy. Their personal scents that he knew so well were still there with just a twinge of difference. But now it was as if his imprint was giving two completely separate scents. It was obvious that the baby, their baby was only minutes from forever separating herself from her mother's womb. It was then that he realized as quickly as he converged on the scents, they were just as quickly moving farther and deeper into the woods. He picked up his pace again, determined to overtake his fleeing mate.

"Tamyra try to stay calm." Seth instinctively slowed but not much when he heard Tre's voice. He hadn't even been paying attention to the other guy's scent while in his pursuit. Seth managed to catch up to the two while they were at a creek. Tamyra he noted was in panther form, pacing along the edge of the water. Tre, in human form attempted to calm her with words, but apparently only Seth's presence could do that. When she caught sight of him he could make out her relaxing her tense body. She paused her pacing and locked eyes with Seth. Then she lowered herself to the ground awkwardly, her still present baby bulge hindering the movement. Seth approached cautiously but was stopped when Tre spoke. "Her water broke while she was in the room with Leah." Seth felt ashamed that he'd nearly forgotten that his sister was going through the same thing. "She ran out of the room and phased. Apparently it became instinctive after that. She mentally sounds like a real panther trying to give birth." Seth lowered his head to indicate he understood. He didn't know much about panther births but the need to protect his young family was almost overbearing. He went and stood near his imprint in a protective gesture but not making her feel claustrophobic. He knew she was in pain when she started yowling loudly. He went to nudge her back, which almost earned him a purr but it turned into a strange hiss when another wave of pain rocked her body.

* * *

"Leah I think it's almost time. You're staying steady between 7 and 9." Carlisle told her calmly.

"You hear that sweetie. It's almost over." Sue agreed as she wiped the sweat from Leah's forehead. Leah couldn't remember the last time she actually had to sweat so it was only adding to her discomfort that she was feeling. Edward had offered his arm for Leah to squeeze in place of Tamyra but as the pain increased she insisted her other hand needed to be occupied as well. Esme immediately offered her hand for Leah to squeeze. She knew it didn't hurt them but after she let a thought slip about secretly wanting someone else to know a fraction of her pain, Edward would occasionally put on a face of pain for her. At first it'd been comical, now she didn't care. She just wanted the kid out.

"Where's Rose?" Leah found herself asking. She hadn't noticed when the vampire left and she was starting to feel abandoned. Although she was grateful her mother was there, neither of her two closest female accomplices was present. _Although one has a genuine excuse._

"She's gone to prepare the bassinettes and get supplies for the newborns with Alice and Bella." Esme explained while warmly smiling. Leah didn't even have the concentration to return the smile.

"Did someone tell Seth?" She didn't know where this sudden interest in everyone's whereabouts was coming from. She saw her mother frown, apparently she'd forgotten about her youngest child as well.

"Yes, Sam informed the pack. I briefly heard Seth's thoughts not too long ago. He should be with Tamyra and Tre by now." _What is Tre doing-_

"He followed her to try to calm her down." Edward explained cutting off her thoughts. "He only managed to convince her not to run out of the state. The process is messing with her mind…a little." He said the last part hesitantly. He wasn't explaining everything to Leah, she wouldn't complain. She was in the middle of trying to pass what felt like a Cadillac between her legs, she was not about to press for more information.

"Leah…" Carlisle hesitated before continuing. _This can't be good.

* * *

_

Seth's heart hurt as his imprint continued to alternate between yowling and hissing in response to her birthing pains. She had been lying in an awkward position and Seth felt helpless because all he could do was stare and occasionally give her comfort in the form of physical contact. Tre stood near them acting as the relay between the two, although it was only one way since Seth couldn't manage to calm himself enough to phase back to human, and not sure if he wanted to. Again his feeling of protectiveness kicked in and he couldn't fight the need to stay in wolf form that was more beneficial his defenseless imprint.

"Myra listen to me. You need to stay calm. No one is going to hurt the baby." Tre was speaking to her as if she were a five year old. Apparently she was having similar concerns. Her movement had increased. Suddenly she stopped. Seth didn't blink not sure what was about to happen. She quickly got to her feet only to change her position again. She started whimpering as her body seemed to convulse. Seth didn't know what was happening so he looked to Tre. Tre's eyes were as wide as Seth's felt. He turned back to Tamyra and realized what was happening. Before the thought could even coherently form in his mind, Tamyra hissed at the two before changing her position so that neither of them could see her more private panther parts. _Now she decides to be modest. _Seth eyed her intensely as she returned the eye contact. She let out one last hiss, there was a light thud and Tamyra dissolved into pants. Seth snapped out of his revelry when Tre tapped him on his midsection. "Go to her, she needs to catch your scent." For a half second, Seth didn't know what he meant but then he heard the very soft high pitched mewing coming from behind Tamyra's exhausted body. He looked back to Tre and saw the man retreating with a smile on his face. "Go on. You don't want her to learn my scent do you? That'll make a whole mess of problems down the road." Seth let out a wolf laugh. He stepped closer as a small panther body stepped around Tamyra's larger one. Her steps were a little uncoordinated and Seth mentally chuckled when she bumped into one of Tamyra's extended paws. Seth lowered his large head to the baby panther that looked no bigger than a regular house cat. She sniffed him. It was then that Seth noticed her eyes which were identical to his own although they were glazed over. For some reason it alarmed him.

"Don't worry, newborn panthers are usually born blind. Once she phases to human it'll clear up." Tre explained, startling Seth since he'd forgotten the guy was still there. The noise also drew the notice of the baby as she turned her whole body in the direction of the voice. Tre purred to her then nodded his head toward Seth and darted back through the woods. Seth turned back to the baby then let out a soft howl that effectively drew her attention back to him and from the figure that she didn't know had retreated far into the woods. She continued her sniffing. He lowered his body completely as she began her thorough inspection. When she reached his tail, Seth wagged it, causing it to brush her nose. She sneezed then attempted to bite it. Seth laughed and was joined by a lazy laugh from Tamyra. She'd recovered a little and was watching the two interact. Seth could tell that she'd probably fall back to sleep soon so he didn't bother her. The baby returned back to his head. She licked his large nose. Seth returned the gesture but his large tongue drenched her entire body. She must have found the entire situation calming and funny because when Seth looked back at her she was in the form of a nude human baby, lying calmly in the grass. Tamyra noticed this, then did a double take and phased back to human before Seth could. She grabbed the baby up in her arms. She looked up at Seth, smiled then looked back down at the baby and cooed.

"Hey baby Sahara."

* * *

"Doc what is it?" Leah asked frantically. Carlisle hadn't continued his thought and it was eating away at Leah's already non-existent resolve.

"The baby is trying to get out but your body is both trying to help it out and work against it. Your healing abilities are closing the path that the baby needs to take to extricate itself." Carlisle paused and looked at Leah to see if she understood. "You're going to have to get the baby out in one push other wise it could asphyxiate." _What?! _ "If the baby doesn't make it out the birth canal quickly, your body may try to close up and strangle the baby do you understand?" Carlisle was serious, the situation was serious and Leah knew that only meant that her baby was in serious danger of dying if she didn't do this right. And when Leah realized this, the gravity of the situation fell on her and completely smashed her tough façade.

"Mommy I can't do this! I can't! Don't make me do this!" Leah was crying to her mother in pure desperation. Sue could only attempt to soothe her, with tears in her eyes.

"Shh Leah it'll be okay. You can do this. It's just one quick strong push. You can do that."

"No mommy I can't!" Leah cried out. She didn't feel any tears in her eyes but she could barely recognize the agonized voice coming from her throat. _Why can't she understand that I'm not ready for this?! _

"Leah you can and you will. You don't want to be pregnant for the rest of your life now do you?" Sue was trying to alleviate the mood with the joke but it only made Leah's eyes open wider in gross realization.

"Momma…" she whined.

"It's okay baby. Leah don't you think the baby is going to be beautiful?"

"Yeah but-"

"What are you gonna name it?" Sue asked. She was trying to distract Leah and this question actually worked, mainly because Leah hadn't thought of a name yet.

"Mom I'm gonna be a horrible mom!" She whined again to her mother. She registered Esme soothingly massaging the hand that was grasping her own for dear life.

"That's not true. Why do you think that?"

"I don't even have a name." Edward must have thought he was being careful to hide his amusement. Leah caught it and used her pregnancy strength to tighten around his hand more. This time his look of pain was genuine.

"Well think of some." Sue encouraged her. Leah's mind wandered. She began thinking of names she'd heard, names she'd thought were strange and some normal ones. It had successfully distracted her from the amount of pain she was in. She only barely registered the four talking around her. She continued thinking of names. She even thought of a play on her own name but quickly discarded it.

"Her father would be so proud of her…" Leah heard her mother say to Esme. The vampire smiled warmly and nodded her head in agreement. It was then that Leah remembered the dream she'd had while she was unconscious in which her father visited her.

"Harry." Sue looked down at her daughter.

"What did you say?"

"If it's a boy I want to name him after dad. Harry." Leah watched as the bright smile crossed her mother's face. She nodded. Carlisle interrupted the moment.

"I'm sorry but Leah I think it's time." His voice dragged Leah back into the present and the amount of pain she was feeling almost caught her off guard. She groaned. "Remember, one strong quick push. Just go when you feel you're ready." Leah took in a few deep breaths, ignoring the searing pain and extreme discomfort coming from her abdominal area. She concentrated on the waves of her body, noticing when she was wider as opposed to closing. She felt the rhythm of change and knew that she would have to be dead on with her timing. _It's just gonna feel like I'm having the world's largest bowel movement…God I hope I don't have an aneurism. _Emily's face flashed in her mind.

"Baby you can do this." Sue was rubbing the top part of her hand that had been previously held by Edward. She didn't ponder on his disappearance for long though as she readied herself. She glanced at her mother one more time then at Esme. Her eyes locked with Carlisle's. He gave her a nod. She returned it before viciously tensing her upper body as she forced her lower body open. She only vaguely felt the swift internal movement going on in her stomach. Just as quickly as it started, it was over, she felt her stomach fill with an emptiness as a high pitched wailing filled Leah's ears. She let out a few labored pants before opening her tightly closed eyes and was met with a small tan body floating in front of her. She didn't notice anyone else in the room except for the baby and she realized the baby wasn't floating but being held in Carlisle's arms when his voice broke free in the room.

"It's a girl!"

* * *

A/N: I'm sure a lot of you were waiting for this chapter! Hope this it was cool, I've never had a baby so I was pretty much wingin it :p


	27. Chapter 26

Leah found herself waking to the soothing strokes of someone's fingers on her forehead. She immediately thought it was her mother but instead was met with the eyes of Sam. She started to smile but her mouth curled downward as she realized someone was missing.

"Where's my-"

"He's got her." Sam said quickly and pointed to Leah's other side where only a few feet away, Tre was standing and cuddling a bundle of blankets in his arms. He showed Leah a shy smile before moving closer to her side to hand the baby back as Leah began holding her arms out.

"Sorry, she woke and started crying. I didn't want to wake you." Tre explained quickly as Leah cuddled the baby closer to her chest. It was then that Leah got a real good look at her new born daughter. Her skin tone, Leah noted was only a shade or two darker than her own, yet still lighter than Tre's. She had a lot of hair for a newborn. Leah absentmindedly rubbed the top of her daughter's head while twirling a lock of her own hair. She noted the similar textures although her daughter's hair was a much darker brown, it looked almost black. Her plump pink lips opened and closed as she started to relax and begin the descent back into sleep. Leah decided to finally look at her daughter's eyes. _Oh gosh…please let them be my eyes._

They were his eyes. Leah gasped realizing that not only did she hold no ill thoughts toward her daughter for having his eyes, but she noted how striking they looked on her. Sam and Tre were both looking at her curiously.

"Lee what is it?" Sam asked.

"N-nothing. Everything's fine." Leah hoped the stuttering didn't tip him off. "I didn't expect her to be _this_ beautiful is all." Sam nodded accepting the answer while Leah caught the slight movement of Tre's sagging shoulders. She didn't comment on it though.

"How are _you_ feeling Lee?" Sam asked moving his arm to rest on her shoulder.

"Still a little drowsy, but I don't feel much pain anymore, guess Myra was right, those healing powers worked after all." Leah added a dry laugh at the end. Sam joined with a weak smile of his own. The mention of her friend caused Leah to turn to Tre. He'd been gazing at the now sleeping baby in Leah's arms. She had to call him a few times to snap him out of it.

"Earth to Tre. Where's your sister?" The question caused Tre to give Leah his undivided attention.

"She's downstairs with Seth, Sahara and everybody." The mention of her niece made Leah smile.

"I guess it's safe to assume her delivery went okay."

"Yeah…it was different. But it was truly beautiful to see. At first I thought I'd be scarred for life but it was nature at its greatest. I'd never seen a true panther birth…animal or shape-shifter." Leah's eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean by _true_ panther birth?"

"When she ran out of here she had this uncontrollable urge to phase. That's the form she was in when she gave birth… as a panther." Tre explained and it caused Leah's eyes to widen. She recalled having phased many times during the course of the pregnancy knowing no harm would come to the child but Tamyra hadn't phased once, since she'd fallen into a coma. _That must have been scary for her._

_Don't worry I'm a big girl I can handle it. _Leah smirked at the mental response feeling more comfortable now that the other girl was in her thoughts again.

"How long have I been out?" Leah asked to the room hoping one of the guys had information.

"You were out only moments after giving birth, you probably don't even remember holding the baby." Tre chuckled as he explained. "You've been asleep for about an hour." He concluded, shoving his empty hands into his pockets. The baby had fallen asleep so Leah didn't have anything to distract her from the awkward silence that enveloped the room.

"So…" Sam started, causing the other two to look up at him. He didn't continue. Leah figured he wanted someone to take the reigns of the conversation but she didn't feel like relieving him at the moment. Neither did Tre apparently. Luckily for Sam, Carlisle came into the room.

"How's mother and child?" He asked while smiling. "Feeling exhausted no doubt."

"Hey, we're tough. I just want to know if that's all you got?" Leah asked looking smug. The guys all smirked at her. "We're good doc."

"Splendid. I just came to deal with some last few things before your visitors all came up here." Leah nodded. Carlisle gestured to the two guys as if asking if it were okay for them to stay. Leah rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry doc. They wouldn't get far enough away for them to not hear what you have to say anyway."

"You're healing nicely. In retrospect it was a very quick delivery. Her weight is 8 pounds 7ounces, she's 20 inches long, completely healthy, born at 11:23 pm. I already completed her prints, there's just the matter of her name for the birth certificate." Carlisle stopped and looked up at her, a notepad in hand his fingers poised and ready to take down the name although he didn't need to since he'd remember it with his flawless memory. She hesitated and now the other two guys were looking at her expectantly.

"Um…I…" Leah blinked a few times, hoping to clear the fogginess that just shrouded her mind. "I don't have…a name." Leah confessed. Carlisle glanced, almost too fast for Leah to notice, at both guys in the room before looking at her squarely again.

"That's no problem. Just inform me as soon as you've come up with a suitable name for the child." Carlisle lowered the notepad to his side. "Congratulations Leah, your baby is beautiful." He said before starting for the door.

"Thanks doc." Leah said with a lazy smile. "Oh and thanks for you know…cutting the cord. I know I said I'd do it but I guess you were ri-"

"Oh I didn't cut the umbilical cord Leah. I guess you were already long gone when that happened." Carlisle explained. Leah's smile fell.

"Then who…" Leah's voice trailed as she watched Carlisle's eyes drift between the two guys standing on either side of her bed again. Neither of them was attempting to make eye contact with her or the vampire. "Okay, someone better answer me!" Leah said, anger beginning to seep into her voice.

"I did." Leah looked to her right at the source of the admission. "As soon as I got into the house, Edward came and put me in some scrubs and I thought he said that you said that you wanted me to do it."

"I didn't say anything…he must've picked it out of my thoughts when my mom asked me." Leah explained. She blew out a puff of air. Carlisle slipped out of the room. "It doesn't mean anything Tre," Leah said sternly while maintain eye contact with him. "But I figured you'd want to do it so…yeah." Leah turned away before she could see him flash a smile. It wasn't long before Leah smelled the heavy concentration of the packs scents drifting up the steps, although they had enough sense to not enter until she said so.

"The pack seems anxious to meet the baby." Sam said cutting off Tre's attempt to say something.

"Not only the pack but the Cul…" Leah trailed off when a thought hit her. She hadn't known what the gender of her kid was going to be and although she hadn't explicitly said it she had expected it to be a boy even up until moments before the birth. But now that she had a girl, it changed everything. Her protective instincts kicked into overdrive. Her arm shot out to Tre. "I only want two in at a time. Could you send Seth and Myra in first?" Tre nodded his head.

"I think Tam's asleep again. Seth'll come in alone with Sahara." Tre assured her in the same manner he had after leaving her once he'd brought her to the Cullen's house. She looked to Sam, he had a sad look in his eyes but he followed Tre out of the room before she could comment.

* * *

Seth was all smiles when his family had returned to the mansion after spending a few of their post delivery moments in the forest. He noted that Tamyra had healed quickly although she was especially drowsy. She didn't even protest much when Brady emerged from the house wanting so much to see his imprint for the first time. His reaction was classic. Although he'd had a similar wide eyed look when he'd first made out the eyes on the ultrasound monitor, this one seemed more solid, more comforting, more real. Brady had carried the baby, into the house while Seth carried Tamyra in before she collapsed. He laid her on the couch then sat on it himself and let her head rest in his lap. As he mindlessly twirled some of her hair he watched as the large group of wolves and vampires crowded around Brady as he cuddled the baby in his arms. Seth concentrated on his daughter's features again. How her panther form differed so greatly from her human form. Physically she looked like a newborn should but her eyes he noticed, were much more aware than a baby should. He attributed the fact to her animal form that mentally wise, seemed more advanced than her human form. She knew his scent already and although she was blind in that form, she already had very keen senses. It both intrigued and worried Seth that his child may grow in a fashion similar to Renesmee.

"You're correct in a sense." Edward's voice broke Seth from his thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Seth asked as he frowned.

"She's very aware for a newborn although she thinks in terms of pictures and senses. She seems to only be relying on recognition. The only people she trusts right now based on scent are you, Tamyra, Tre and she's learning Brady's right now." Edward smirked while Seth let out a low growl. "She's a little wary of the others, being unable to place their scent." Edward moved away having finished what he was saying. He looked towards the stairs. "You're sister is awake." At the mention of his sister, Seth tried carefully lifting himself off the couch without disturbing his imprint. Her breathing patterns changed and Seth figured she was awake although she refused to open her eyes. Seth moved to join the others still gathered around Sahara.

"I'm surprised you mutts can have such gorgeous kids." Rosalie taunted but the huge smile on her face discredited her would be insult. Brady, in his own little world, was cooing to the child he held in his arms while Rosalie, Embry, Jared, and Jacob looked on. Seth approached the small group. His presence went unnoticed for several moments.

"Uh…" he stopped to loudly clear his throat, effectively drawing the attention towards him. "Yeah I was hoping to hold my daughter…again." He said somewhat passively. When Brady hesitated Jacob glared at him. Brady's shoulders drooped in defeat as he carefully handed Sahara to Seth. Seth walked away carrying his light bundle until Paul came running into the room.

"Guys, I think we should see what's up with Leah." Everyone looked at him questioningly, trying to figure why he would be so excited about Leah. "I mean, she's probably so doped up on drugs or something, I gotta see it," he amended. The wolves accepted his explanation as they made their way up the stairs. Needless to say, by the time the vampires joined them, the stairwell was crowded.

"Seth!" Seth looked up, still holding his daughter as his mother approached him. He hadn't seen her since she first left Leah's side shortly after her delivery. He could almost feel the pride radiating off of her as she held her other granddaughter. "You're going to be so proud of your sister." She said as she hugged Seth and Sahara against her. The action caused Sahara to start making gurgling sounds that were muffled in Sue's blouse. It was only a few minutes later when Sam and Tre came from the room.

"Seth, Leah's asking for you." Tre said as he came out, both he and Sam ignoring most of the questions that bombarded them when they exited. Seth walked into the room to see his sister lying comfortably in the bed with a bundle of pink blankets being nestled near her chest. Leah had a nervous look on her face although it diminished when he entered and she identified the baby in his arms.

"So how's the first hour of fatherhood been kid?" Leah asked. Seth smirked as he walked to her bedside.

"I could ask you the same thing…you know without the kid part and with the mother-father swap." They both laughed. Leah stopped and her face turned solemn again. This concerned Seth. "What is it sis?"

"I…" Leah paused. He could tell that she was having trouble verbalizing what she wanted to say. "I…didn't think about everything. I didn't prepare myself. "She paused again and Seth worried that she was going to become emotional. "This whole time I feel like, I was preparing myself for the birth, but I never looked past it. I never made the baby really…real to me and now I'm not ready." She let out a dry chuckle. "I didn't even expect to have a girl believe it or not and now that she's a she I have a whole bunch of other stuff to think about." She paused this time to look at Seth expectantly. He wasn't sure what she wanted him to say.

"Are you worried about her safety or did you want a boy because you thought he'd be less defenseless." Seth's confusion irritated Leah so she rolled her eyes then leaned toward him.

"One word," she lowered her voice to a whisper that Seth almost couldn't hear her. "Brady." Seth cocked his head to the side in confusion then his eyes went wide in understanding.

"You think-" Leah shushed him when his voice went too loud. Seth corrected himself." You think Brady's going to imprint on your baby too?" Leah remained silent for longer than necessary then smacked him across his head quicker than his reflexes could respond.

"No genius! I don't want one of the guys imprinting on my baby." She explained in a harsh whisper.

"Leah it's destiny. If one of the guys are destined to imprint on your baby there's not much you can do about it." Seth tried to explain calmly. "It's not so bad. I got used to Brady always being around Myra."

"Tell me Seth, since you've been back to the house, how long have you held Sahara?" Leah asked him. When his smile fell, Leah's face turned smug. "Exactly."

"So we'll have to set some boundaries for Brady," Seth waved his hand. "But we've seen Jake and Quil and they have great relation-uh," Seth frowned at his word choice. "Friend-uncle things going on with Ness and Claire. I know what to expect with Brady."Seth said as if he were trying to convince himself more than Leah.

"I'm not buying it." Leah said once he was done. "And I'm not subjecting my daughter to that." Leah said with a hint of finality. "She'll find her friends and lovers the old fashioned way."

"Leah, you can't deny…your baby the chance to find her soul mate." Seth paused to think for a moment. "Hey Leah, what's my niece's name?"

"She doesn't have one yet." Leah said almost too quickly for Seth to catch.

"You didn't have any names prepared?!" Seth forgot the hushed whisper and yelled it earning a few snickers from outside the door. Leah glared at him.

"No I didn't-"

"What are we supposed to call her?" Seth asked as if it were the most scandalous thing he'd ever heard.

"She'll have a name when a good one comes to me." Leah half heartedly assured him. Seth was still staring at her as if she were insane.

"You've had three months Leah, you're such a procrastinator-"

"I'm a procrastinator? What about you, mister I-didn't-think-about-how-I'm-gonna-raise-my-family-until-a-month-before-my-first-baby-was-born?"

"Leah this isn't about me this is about you!" Seth said pointing his finger at his older sister then pulling it back when she threatened to bite it. "What are we supposed to call her?"

"I don't know, you're the creative one, you think of something!"

"Well I'm not calling her niece!" Seth tapped a finger to his chin. "How about we call her lil Leah, or Leah junior, or Leah beta…oh wait no that could get confusing since you are a beta…I guess we could call her Leah beta beta but that would mean there's a Leah beta alpha but then again that could still apply to you since you're a beta and an alpha-"

"Stop." Leah held up her hand to silence him. "Just call her one of the first two. She'll have a real name when I can come up with one." Seth nodded his head in acceptance. He hadn't realized when Sahara had fallen asleep in his arms. He was surprised that in their arguing they hadn't woken either baby. "Can I see her?" Leah asked softly when she noticed where Seth's attention had been drawn. Seth lowered his daughter to Leah, she reached for her niece smiling.

"May I?" Seth gestured toward Leah's baby and she allowed.

"She's beautiful." Seth smiled as he cuddled his niece to his chest. He echoed her statement. "Funny how they both ended up with the same skin tone."

"Yeah, it's like they're twins. Hope we don't get them mixed up." Seth joked.

"Yeah that'll be rough to explain down the road." Leah said and they both laughed again. Leah looked up at him again after a few moments. "I'm serious about what I said. The guys that have imprinted are okay to see my baby but I don't want the ones who haven't around her." Seth frowned but didn't voice his opinion again. Then a thought struck him.

"What about Collin?" Leah didn't understand the unspoken exception. "It won't be too hard keeping Embry's non-imprinted wolves away 'cause they're only here for training days but the only one in our pack is Collin. He's around a lot more." Leah evidently hadn't thought of that but she came up with a solution quickly.

"Blindfold."

"What?!" Seth shrieked, startling his niece in his arms but not enough to wake her. Leah shrugged her shoulders.

"It's obvious that the trigger to an imprint is eye contact. If Collin is in the same place as my daughter then he must be blindfolded or have his eyes closed."

"You cant actually…Leah you can't do that!"

"I can and I will." Leah said and Seth figured that if she were standing she'd probably have her hands on her hips. Seth sighed knowing he'd lost this battle.

"Fine…"Seth paused to think about his friend. "But he's not going to be happy about this. You're only pushing him further away." Leah made a sound by sucking her teeth.

"Not my problem. He's your friend. If you want him to feel included, how about taking a few seconds to let your imprint be an independent human being." Leah said coldly. Seth didn't reply. They sat in a tensed silence for a few more seconds.

"I guess I'll send someone else in, they all want to see Leah junior." Seth said as he switched babies with Leah. Leah didn't reply, she just took her daughter back into her arms. Seth left the room and saw the next two people in line. "Jake, Embry, I think you both should go in next." He said, and both alphas went in. Jacob shot Seth a quizzical look in response to his somber expression. Seth walked back down to the living room but not before hearing Leah start speaking to the two in the room.

"Black, Call, I need to ask you both a favor of the alpha variety…"

* * *

A/N: I do believe the imprints will be making an appearance next chap...*evil grin*


	28. Chapter 27

"A living will? Seriously?" Leah asked as she sat in a lounge chair in Jared and Kim's new house. The living room, although it had a pretty boring color scheme was pretty cozy. She understood why the LaPush pack had made this the new go-to spot. That and the fact that they didn't want to get caught in the Rachel-Tenia war. Sue had told Leah how they were cooling down ever since the Embry alpha fiasco but when Rachel realized how closely related that would soon make her to the younger teen, the imprint 'war at home' broke out again in full force. Kim was the obvious middle ground.

"It's wise. I recently did research on the numbers of children thrown into the system needlessly just because their parents didn't bother on a will." Tenia explained to the room of females. She had pulled her new laptop out and insisted on typing up both Leah and Tamyra's living wills a week after the babies' births. "You need to think ahead Leah, you have a battle coming up in two months, who knows what could happen."

"They have plenty of support. We wouldn't stand by idly and watch the girls get put into children's services." Rachel said blowing off Tenia's concerns. Tenia shot the other girl a look, which in turn caused Kim to shake her head in disappointment.

"Of course we would. It would be too risky for exposure to the tribe especially since the babies phase already-"

"Why do you care about LaPush, _Makah?_"Rachel sneered at the younger girl.

"What do you mean miss I'll-run-off-and-leave-my-helpless-father-and-teenage-brother-to-fend-for-themselves-"

"Billy isn't helpless!" Rachel screamed back, lifting herself off the couch before Kim stopped her.

"Ladies! Please, we just want to have a nice gathering of friends." Leah mentally cheered Kim's rising leadership. Although she always knew Kim was more of a peacekeeper, when Emily was around, she easily faded into the background. She pitied the girl for having to constantly mediate Rachel and Tenia.

"Yeah I thought this was so you girls could see the babies?" Leah asked, giving Kim some verbal backup. Tenia turned her glare from Rachel and gave Leah her undivided attention.

"And to delegate babysitting duties." The girl added. Leah frowned.

"Nothing needs to be delegated. I know you guys get a little… tedious with the whole babysitting Leo thing but I'm perfectly capable of watching my child." Leah assured them.

"Same goes for me." Tamyra added finally deciding to join the conversation after fussing over Sahara for twenty minutes.

"We know that but-"Kim started to explain but Tenia cut her off.

"You don't need any distractions from preparation for the battle." Leah took a moment to study the girl that she was currently liking less and less with each utterance from her mouth.

"Our daughters are not distractions! And you're not just going to take our kids and keep them out of sight and believe we'll just forget about them." Leah's voice had raised and startled the child in her arms but she didn't cry when she woke.

"Oh believe me, if we take them soon and often you'll start focusing like you did when you were young and single." Tenia explained cheerfully and confidently.

"We're still young!" Tamyra assured her as she began rocking a fussy Sahara in her lap.

"And I'm still single!" Leah exclaimed.

"What about Sam?" Rachel asked, her eyes showing the intensity of her curiosity.

"What _about_ Sam?" Leah countered. She didn't want to admit that she'd been avoiding him along with Tre like they were the bubonic plague.

"You guys are dating right?" Rachel asked. Leah's eye twitched.

"We're not dating we're just… hanging out." Leah chose to ignore the eyebrow raises in the room.

"Why don't we just get back to the stupid will thing?" Rachel asked after a moment of awkward silence. Tenia decided to resume her questioning of the two new mothers.

"Okay, if something happens to either of you who do you want to take custody of your kids?"

"This is all really morbid." Kim stated, in a vain attempt to save the girls from questioning.

"This is reality. Now who's it gonna be. Oh and don't say each other because I have a feeling both of you would kick the can at the same time." Tenia said rather forcefully. She ended by leaning forward in her chair and looking between the two girls expectantly. Leah studied her again and wondered how this teenage female managed to have so much ill placed bravado.

"My mom probably…and if not her, probably Rose." Leah answered truthfully, not realizing what she'd admitted until it was too late.

"Rose?" Kim asked, thrown a little by Leah's answer.

"As in the blonde Cullen girl?" Rachel asked with a hint of disgust. Leah found that to be expected considering Paul is her imprinter.

"Are you insane? Why would you leave your innocent baby with those leeches?! They're not even human!" Tenia nearly yelled while standing up from her seat. Right then and there, Leah decided the teenager was a full blown drama queen.

"Neither is my daughter. Why would I leave her with unrelated humans? They can't be a truly comforting mother because they don't know what it's like to not be human. Plus they're fragile. My daughter is not fragile." Leah didn't care at the moment that she was insulting half of the room. She only hoped that no one else said anything stupid that would cause her to completely lose her cool.

"Not even with one of us? We know what it's like in the pack."

"No…you don't."Leah took in a slow breath and continued in an eerily even tone."You think you do but you don't. None of you know the sheer ferocity of becoming a_ beast_. Of _shedding_ your humanity like it's just another layer of clothes and being drawn into this immense force. You don't know what it's like to tear into marble skin and rip it like its nothing. You don't know how to fight to the death! You don't know what it feels like to be the smallest in a group of stronger males and still have to prove yourself worthy. You don't know what it feels like to fight an animal that at the same time is your brother. You don't know what it feels like to wait and wait until an army of enemies that are as strong if not stronger than you are showing up on your turf and you having no rest until every last enemy is torn to shreds or burning at your feet. You don't know and you can thank your imprints for that because they will never let you see the truth. They will always protect you from the gruesome details. They will always tell you they're fine when hours before they probably had their bones broken and blood was threatening to stain their fur. All you know is the worry you feel when you sit at home and wait for them to return and even that isn't genuine because you know they wouldn't let themselves die just for the sheer fact that they know it would rip your hearts out. That my friends, is reality." Leah was breathing heavily. She hadn't realized when she stood up to deliver her impromptu speech.

"False sense of security or not," Rachel started quietly after a few moments of silence passed over the group. "…wouldn't you want your kid to have that? Everyone knows you hated the life of the wolf. We'd think you'd want your kid to at least be protected from it to a degree."

"What does that have to do with anything? My kid is never going to be able to escape." Leah said in a tone of defeat.

"What if she could? Even a little? We heard about how you're not letting the guys come near her." Leah didn't like the defensive tone that Tenia's voice had taken. She took a breath to control the light trembles going through her body that only she and Tamyra would be able to notice."You actually made Embry and Jacob alpha command both packs to not come around your daughter for fear they would imprint. You're making Collin carry around a blindfold like it's his leg string." Leah wasn't sure what it was but the younger girl's voice was ringing in Leah's mind like a battle cry. She was uncharacteristically having trouble maintaining her composure and really wanted to phase. She'd never felt this defensive against an imprint before, let alone a human. _Except for maybe Emily but it was never this bad was it? _

_Maybe you should sit back down Leah. _Leah tried to comply with the suggestion but she was busy wondering why when Tenia's mouth had formed Jacob's name that she suddenly felt so…_territorial_. She didn't even notice that she was holding her daughter in a vice grip.

"_She's acting like an alpha of the imprints…" _Her mother's words echoed in her head. The curious eyes in the room widened as Leah let out an animalistic growl. _Why am I acting like this, she's an imprint. _Tenia inched back in her chair that was only a few feet from the vicious looking she-wolf. The action didn't go unnoticed by Leah and it gave her a sick sense of pleasure. The fear coming from the other girl was building and Leah took a tentative step forward. The result was gratifying.

"Leah, don't take any of this the wrong way." Kim said quietly but Leah knew the girl had enough sense not to interfere further. Leah would really hate to have to hurt one of her friends in a fit of anger. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it." Kim finished not sure what exactly caused the change in Leah's demeanor. Leah glanced around the room. She saw Rachel tentatively watching the stand-off. Tamyra she noted was locked entirely onto Leah's thoughts. Although to an outsider she looked completely calm, she 'd already shifted her weight so that she could spring up quickly. Leah shared a glance with Kim again before settling on Tenia. The girl hadn't moved, she simply stared. Leah didn't know where this insecurity came from but she knew that this girl was the reason. _Is it because she's Embry's imprint? Am I really responding to her as if she's some infiltrating alpha female. I'm getting too in touch with my inner wolf. _Leah realized that her trembling body was only getting worse the longer she stared at Tenia. She looked down at her sleeping daughter that was in her arms. Her child hadn't phased yet. Jasper had told her that even being a newborn baby, she had an unheard of control of her emotions. Unlike her counter part Sahara who was known to phase from any extreme emotion. Leah recalled a recent conversation with Tamyra.

"_She's mad, she phases. She's happy, she phases. She's sleepy she phases. She's too cold, she phases."_

"_It can't be that bad."_

"_She saw a butterfly in the window while I was changing her diaper and poof! Instant house cat! I'm thinking about leaving her naked." _

The memory and peaceful look on her daughter's face calmed Leah and she took a step back toward her seat. The three human imprints all visibly relaxed as they released their held breaths. It wasn't until Leah sat down did Tenia return to a fully upright seated position. She muttered something under her breath.

"Someone has control issues-" Leah could only blame it on instinct because she ended up only a foot away from the other girl with her arm outstretched, hand already curved in a choking position. The other girl hadn't even realized when Leah had moved so she let out a strangled cry when she noticed Leah's proximity. Leah's eyebrows furrowed when she realized a force was holding her arm in place, fingers only inches from Tenia's fragile neck.

_She's an imprint Leah. _Tamyra thought to Leah as she struggled to hold her alpha's wrist, stopping her from getting any closer.

_I don't care Myra._

_You'd be signing your own death certificate._

_That's only if Embry could kill me._

_You forget that his entire pack would have license to kill you as well and they outnumber us._

_They outnumber us because they had a baby boom. _Tamyra fought to conceal her smirk at Leah's use of 'baby' to reference the young wolves. _We could take em._

_Yes but I try not to kill pups before they reach their 15__th__ birthdays._

_You're a saint. _During the mental conversation neither girl had let any emotion show on their face besides the deadly one Leah was sporting and Tamyra's look of deep concentration. Tenia's eyes were wide and locked on Leah as if she were trying to take in every detail she possibly could as to not get taken by surprise again. Leah flashed her already transformed fangs and Tenia scrambled over the back of the chair and crouched as if the flimsy furniture was strong protection. Leah yanked her arm out of Tamyra's grasp and used it to support her child that had been balanced in her left arm. Leah looked up in time to see a grin on Rachel's face. Kim just looked worried.

"This was all very exciting but I think it's time I picked up Leo." Rachel said as she rose from her seat, her grin slowly fading. She stretched and threw a glance at the girl still partially cowering behind the furniture. "If you know what's good for you Ten, you'll stay quiet the remainder of the time you're here. I told you that big mouth of yours would get you in trouble one day." With that Rachel nearly skipped out of the house.

"Well," Tamyra started, bringing attention to herself and away from the lingering tension. "I think it's time Leah and I got going. We have a meeting later on and we want to get the girls to the Cullens early." Tamyra turned to Kim. "Thanks for inviting us. The muffins were great by the way." The compliment snapped Kim out of her worried daze.

"Oh right, thanks. I used your suggestion about the ingredients."

"Oh. Good. Glad to be of help. "The two hugged awkwardly. Leah still hadn't moved from her spot still staring the girl down. Tenia refused to take her eyes off of Leah and Leah smirked knowing that the girl's unblinking eyes were probably burning. "C'mon Leah, the babies are probably hungry." Tamyra tugged Leah out the door.

* * *

"Leah! I have a bone to pick with you. And it's a very serious bone!" Embry was angry as he marched into the clearing backed by Sam and Jared. Leah had been chatting with her pack mates when Embry's voice cut through the trees. Leah rolled her eyes just as Paul scampered in to the clearing and took a seat on a tree stump as if he were waiting for a show to start.

"What is it Call?"

"Ten-Ten just told me that you assaulted her today!" _Ten-Ten?_

"Assaulted? The chick's younger than I thought if she doesn't even know what assault entails."

"She said you growled at her and jumped her! That you wold've choked her if Tamyra hadn't stopped you." Embry was pointing at her accusingly and Leah didn't like that or the way his voice was increasing in volume. She ignored the curious glances shared between her pack mates.

"Lee is that true?" She heard Seth ask from somewhere behind her.

"And if it is, so what? What are you gonna do?" Leah challenged and Embry growled in response. Leah made a face that showed she wasn't intimidated. "Tell your little baby to stop crying and suck it up. The next time she wants to criticize me tell her to remember who she's talking to." Seth had moved to his sister's side. Embry was growing more frustrated and angry as Leah spoke.

"She was just trying to help you with that will thing." He said through clenched teeth.

"No, she wants to know if I'd give her control of my kid if I die in battle. She's been walking around with some big ego thinking that she's someone important-"

"She is important!"

"-because she's the girlfriend to the new_ alpha_." Leah's fingers made air quotes as she said alpha. "She needed to be knocked down a few notches. Embry you should be thanking me because outside of LaPush that title means absolutely nothing and you wouldn't want some total stranger knocking sense into her now would you?" Something in Embry snapped, he took a step forward as if to attack Leah. She didn't move but her view of him was instantly cut off by two bodies.

"I think you should back up Call." Jacob said from in front of Leah. He was standing with his arms crossed, in an identical stance as the slightly shorter Tre who was next to him. Leah grinned quickly realizing that the guys were willing to back her up. She didn't let the moment live long though.

"Thanks boys but I can handle myself." Leah said as she stepped through the two. Embry had already taken a step back even though he was obviously still enraged with Leah. Sam had stepped closer to the scene, clearly torn between supporting Leah or Embry.

"I think we should just get this meeting over with before we kill each other." Seth suggested. A few more of the LaPush pack members had arrived. Solomon had joined Paul near the tree stump and was being entertained by the action as well.

"I think that's a good idea." Both Tamyra and Sam had said this. Sam threw her a confused look. She retorted with a light hiss. _Guess she's back to hating Sam again. _

_I tolerated him as long as he didn't do anything stupid. _Tamyra had apparently caught Leah's thought since she responded.

_When did he-_

_He proposed? Are you serious? _Tamyra asked in disgust.

_How did you find out that he-_

_You've been mulling over it for a week now. _Leah paused before responding.

_Oh… _Leah's thoughts trailed as she and her pack mates moved to their positions on one side of the clearing while Embry's pack moved to the other. Jacob exchanged a few words with the pack. Leah ignored him as she glanced over and saw Jared working his charm on calming Embry back down. Leah sensed Tre still hovering near her although he didn't say anything._ He must still be riding his high from getting to cut the umbilical cord. _Tamyra stood to Leah's left while Jacob walked to meet Embry in the middle. Seth stood on Tamyra's other side while he whispered something to Quil. Brady and Collin remained silent. The whole clearing followed suit as Jacob and Embry called everyone to attention.

"We didn't come here for any tension." Jacob began as he alternated between facing both packs. "We came here to discuss our fighting plans. We'll continue on speed but we need to be able to fight tactfully and be able to work in small groups to take out up to 5 or 6 enemies." Embry took over then.

"We're going to split off into groups which means that you may be with people who are or aren't in your pack." Every looked when Solomon raised his hand. Embry nodded towards him for him to speak.

"How is that going to work? If we're working within the packs how are we supposed to communicate?" The question caused a few others to start whispering their similar concerns. Jacob raised his hand to silence everyone again.

"We've considered that." _Who has? _Leah shot Jacob a confused look when he glanced in her direction. "Embry and I are going to practice continually filtering both pack minds through our alpha links." Leah thought about what he'd just said. She had concerns about it but before she could voice them, Solomon spoke again.

"Is that efficient though? Won't that be taxing on the both of you, to have to focus on fighting and the task force and keeping both packs linked at all times?" Leah had to give it to the kid, he was smart. There were more whispers.

"It's the best way we can think of to keep everyone connected." Embry explained. Solomon spoke again.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just combine into one pack under one of you guys?" A few agreed with Solomon's idea. "I mean just for the battle." He added as an afterthought.

"We thought of that. But-" Jacob glanced at Embry before he continued his answer. "It's impossible. One of us would be out of the loop. It's like when I pulled from Sam. I could because I'm a blood alpha and Sam wasn't. Embry's accepted his birthright now and since he also is a blood alpha we're on…equal footing." Jacob hesitated. Embry jumped in to finish the explanation.

"What he means is, I can't join his pack and he can't join mine. We tried but neither of our wolves would submit to the other." This news everyone found intriguing but at the same time frustrating. Jared stepped forward to speak.

"What if Jacob's pack joins us and then Embry just focuses on maintaining a link with Jacob?" There were a few hesitations at Jared's suggestion. Jacob whipped his head in his pack's direction as if giving them a choice. Leah, feeling confident decided to speak for the group.

"Not gonna happen." Jacob turned back to Jared and shrugged as if saying 'There's your answer.' "Besides you tend to forget that there are four alphas and not just two. The panthers are in my pack and I don't think Tre or I can submit to other alphas." Leah explained. Embry looked confused.

"Then how are you still in Jake's pack?"

"Because I'm loyal to him still," Leah answered and Jacob flashed her a smile. She figured he was probably reliving the moment when they first discovered her dual pack dilemma.

"You could be loyal to me for-"

"Choose your words wisely Call." Leah warned him. He didn't finish his thought. _At least he's smarter than his imprint. _"Besides, why can't your goons just switch to our pack?" Leah added the question although she was pretty sure she didn't like the idea of combining the packs again, even if it was just for one battle. _Nor do I really want to open mental channels with Tre._

"This isn't a fool proof plan. It would be too much strain for one alpha to handle the thoughts of twenty wolves, order everyone around and try to maintain contact with the lone alpha." Sam explained. It was the first time he'd spoken and Leah raised an eyebrow at him. He seemed angry. She could only tell because his eyes were lifeless again and he was using his cold tone he'd spoken in shortly after Emily's death.

"He's right. We'll practice maintaining contact between the two-" Leah cleared her throat loudly. "I mean three packs. Leah that means you'll have to work on filtering Myra and Tre's thoughts into our pack mind."Leah noticed Tre shift his weight at this. He had just figured out what Leah had moments before. "I'll keep in contact with Embry and that way we have everyone together." Jacob finished his statement. No one verbally protested so he nodded his head and added an enthusiastic clap. "Alright everyone get into your groups you were assigned at the battle meeting." _We're practicing now? _Leah shot forward from her position as did Tamyra.

"Wait Jake. We only told the Cullens that we'd be gone for an hour tops. I thought this was a meeting not training."

"The Cullens don't sleep. They have nothing better to do than watch your kids."

"That's not the point-"

"The point is that we're running out of time. We have two months to turn our pack into an army. We don't have time to waste. We have to train as often as we can and as hard as we can. And don't worry I already called the Cullens and told them you ladies would probably be out later than you originally thought." Jacob assured them. The packs started moving toward each other to form their small teams. Leah looked and saw Jacob, Paul, Sam, and Tre join up to form the task force. Embry was trying to get everyone else to form up around him.

"Collin, Solomon, get your furry little butts over here."

* * *

Seth moved towards his group with Tamyra and Brady before Embry called him.

"Hey we changed some of the groups. Seth, you're now with Jared and I'm moving Quil with me." _With Jared…and Fluffy Hair kid? _The thought caused a quick mischievous grin to cross Seth's face but he quickly erased it as Embry continued speaking. "One of the kids in my group will join Tamyra and Brady." With that he walked back to his group. Seth joined up with Jared not liking the fact that his imprint was probably the strongest in her group now. She turned in his direction and flashed him a smile. It didn't make his worry lessen.

"Don't worry kid," Jared said as he smacked Seth on the back. "She's tough. She can take care of herself." Seth nodded his head in agreement, only slightly surprised that Jared knew what he was thinking. Jacob was the first to phase, followed shortly by Embry. The rest of the packs followed suit. Seth phased, wondering how strange it would be to hear both packs.

_Hmm…this doesn't feel any different. _Quil was the first to interrupt the silence.

_Yeah I can still only hear us. _Brady added. Seth checked and realized that the two wolves he was standing next to weren't in his thoughts.

_Hey Seth now's your chance! Brush up against Fluffy and tell me how his fur feels. He won't suspect a thing. _The dare was tempting. Since he couldn't hear Seth, he wouldn't know what he was planning to do. Quil cheered him on. Seth attempted to casually back up into the younger wolf. When the made the slightest contact, the kid went berserk and jumped back then crouched low and started growling at Seth. _Woah what's wrong with that kid?_

_Back away Seth he might have rabies! _Brady teased. Collin was about to defend him but his thoughts were cut off by his own mental laughter in response to Brady. Seth looked at the kid who was still growling at him then looked over at Jared who was glancing between the two, royally confused.

_Will you guys shut up for a minute? _It was Jacob and he sound genuinely frustrated. The pack fell silent.

_Dirt. Dirt. Dirt. Tree. Dirt. _Seth wanted to laugh, apparently Brady still hadn't learned how to keep his thoughts quiet.

_Brady. Seriously. _Jacob chastised him again.

_I'm sorry Jake but I can't stop thinking. _He whined. Jacob never responded. Suddenly Seth could hear the distant thoughts of the other pack. It was strange with the new voices. Seth could clearly pick out his pack from Embry's. Embry's pack had a distant almost echoing feel to it. He also noticed that emotions weren't transmitted either.

_Embry did you do it? _As soon as Embry started to address the younger wolf in his pack the connection was lost and Seth found himself surrounded by the clearer voices of Jacob's pack. He heard Jacob swear in a manner that would have been under his breath if they were in human form. After a few moments the connection was re-established although it was obvious that both alphas were focused on maintaining the connection as opposed to speaking. Members from both packs to advantage of the situation and started yelling to each other.

_Hey! Collin how's it over there buddy?_

_Brady, are you hanging with me this weekend?_

_Seth I would appreciate it if you never touched me again._

_Paul, you suck! _That last thought instantly prompted a fight between Collin and Paul, although Collin ran mostly to get away from the stronger wolf. Jacob was torn from his alpha link to try and break up the fight. Finally after a few minutes the link was set up again without interruption until Seth realized something.

_Where's Leah?

* * *

_

Leah stood towards the edge of the clearing as the fight between Paul and Collin was being broken up by Jacob. Tamyra and Tre were standing near her.

"So how are we going to do this?" Tamyra asked to her two alphas. They pretty much ignored her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tre asked Leah again. She hadn't answered him the other five times he'd asked. She knew she had to do this for the battle but she wasn't sure she was ready. Tamyra had suggested just filtering Tre and Leah through her connection but Tre said that he may not be able to control his mental lock to lock Leah out and let Tamyra in. Leah also turned the idea down saying that too many separations between the packs would probably be bad for communication. So there they stood in human form preparing to hear each other.

"I'm not sure I want to but I have to…so go ahead." Tre realized this was as much of an answer he was going to get so he nodded. Leah felt the mental connection hum to life as pressure started to build in a section of her brain. She tried not flinch at the invading feeling that felt more like the beginning stages of a headache. Just as she went to massage her head, foreign thoughts and emotions burst into her mind. Leah was nearly overcome and started to double over when she realized the two panthers had reacted the same way. Tre regained his composure first. Leah could sense them all trying to shuffle through their feelings, trying to separate themselves from their two other pack mates. "Haven't you guys done this before?"

"Yeah but…" _We never realized how loud a leadership set could be. _Tamyra answered her both verbally and in thought. Leah realized that the girl was in fact very loud in her mind now.

_It must have to do with the Dimprint and…this. _

_Do you think we should try to connect with the others now? _Tre asked somewhat passively. Leah turned and realized all of the wolves were looking at them.

_Sure why not? _Leah immediately moved behind a tree to take off her clothes and phase. The other two hadn't phased but she realized her pack could already hear the thoughts of the two panthers from her mind.

_Leah what took you so long? _Seth asked immediately.

_That's weird. It's like their voices are part of your regular thoughts._ Quil noticed. Leah nodded her large head and turned back to Tre and Tamyra.

_Can you hear them? _They both confirmed that they could. Leah listened in and found that she could hear Embry's pack as well. _All of them? _

_Yeah but the LaPush pack sounds very distant. _Tamyra answered her. Leah confirmed that they sound just as distant in her own thoughts. After that both panthers phased. Leah took the time to stretch out her limbs. She noticed that the extra strength she'd gain during her pregnancy had diminished but her leg muscles seemed to ripple with their old excitement. She could only assume that her speed was back up again. She'd slept for nearly two days after giving birth, she could only attribute it to the fact that her body was re-adjusting to its familiar settings.

_Okay guys we're gonna go for a run to warm up and see how long we can keep this connection going. _Jacob spoke and it surprisingly carried over to all the packs. A few wolves whooped and cheered.

_Lead the way Jake. _He started to trot off. Embry immediately followed with Sam directly beside him. Leah sped up to join Jacob. The wolves and panthers followed as Jacob gradually increased speed and soon the packs were running around the state of Washington.

* * *

A/N: Trying to get chapters out before I go on vaca. So if they're really confusing I'll clean em later. These last two months are gonna go quickly probably chapter wise just a heads up. Reviews are great! Sorry I haven't responded to them lately. I'll end up just sending really long responses more than likely! :)


	29. Chapter 28

Two weeks of intense training sped by. Jacob and Embry were getting better at holding the alpha link and still being able to concentrate on other things as well. Leah found herself gradually getting used to hearing Tamyra and Tre almost constantly now although she still had a long way to go before she accepted it. She had tried to use the connection to spy on Tre and see when he was lying. Surprisingly he very rarely was. She discovered that he was in fact a very honest human being, he just had a habit of masking his true emotions. That reminded her of her daughter who was still nameless. The girl was only a few weeks old and could already bottle up her feelings. She rarely cried even when she was uncomfortable. And when she did it was never very loud. It was as if she were purposely avoiding her emotions that could trigger the phase. Leah blamed that bad habit on Tre.

This particular day, Leah was free. Her mother had wanted to watch her baby for the day and there was no training scheduled. Leah didn't have anything else planned so she spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach. It was chilly so there were no families out. Leah found herself in the serene environment, her feet getting soaked by the tide as she sat on the shore with her knees pulled to her chest.

"Hey Leah, you mind if we speak?" Leah had smelled him before she heard his steps. She hoped he wouldn't come all the way to the beach and would just turn and go home before he spotted her. _Fat chance. _

"Not at all Sam." Leah replied sarcastically without turning to face him. She willed herself to just stare out at the ocean even as Sam took a seat in the sand next to her. She could feel his intense stare although she didn't acknowledge it.

"Nice day-"

"Just cut the chit-chat and say what you need to say." Leah hadn't meant to snap at him. She closed her eyes a little regretful that'd she'd lost her cool so quickly.

"I don't need to say anything…" he trailed off waiting for Leah to say the obvious. She felt like being stubborn for the time being. "I just need an answer." The sounds of their breathing were mingling with the crashes of the tide. "To my question." Sam added after a moment as if he really needed to prompt Leah anymore.

"What question is that Sam?" Leah asked in a disinterested voice as she ran her hands through the fine grains around her.

"Marry m-"

"That's not a question." Leah squeezed at the sand in her hands willing the small pieces to turn into dust. "That's a command." She dropped the non-malleable handful.

"Will you marry me?" She saw him reach for her idle hand but she pulled it back before he could grab it.

"Why?" Sam blinked rapidly.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to marry me?" Leah asked frustrated, still not meeting his eyes. "Why did you have to go and ruin what we had going on?" The last part angered Sam. He stood up and paced for a few moments.

"We didn't have anything going on. We were dating pointlessly. We love each other." Leah couldn't stop herself before the skeptical scoff left her lips.

"We _loved_ each other Sam. There's a difference." Leah wiggled her toes in the water as the tide rushed in. "Besides we weren't dating. We were just hanging out. Doing fun things together-"

"Going to glamorous restaurants, wearing fancy clothes, making out isn't dating?" Sam asked her doubtful. "Then what is it?"

"We were friends with benefits." Leah responded quickly. Sam fell into his angry silence again. Leah decided to pretend she didn't notice. "What makes you think I want to wear Emily's ring anyways."

"Emily was buried with her wedding ring." Leah tried to suppress her surprise at Sam's quick reply. He used her silence as a chance to continue. "When I phased for the first time, the only thing besides the fear and confusion that I felt or thought about was you. I knew I needed to get back to you. When I calmed down and the Elders explained to me what happened I swore to myself that I would go see you. That if you took me back I'd never leave you again." Sam paused in his story and looked out to sea. "I went to your house and you pulled me right in and started crying and saying how much you missed me and asking if I was alright and I was so happy that you loved me even though I disappeared without a word for weeks. As soon as I left your room that night I decided that I was going… shopping in the morning." Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring that Leah hadn't seen since before she'd gone into labor. "I bought this ring that day fully intending on asking you to be my wife but the day I came over to propose you said you had company. I'd wanted some alone time with you but you said you wanted me to meet your best friend…your cousin." Sam fingered the small ring in his hand. "I just…I couldn't…" Sam stopped playing with the ring.

"Why'd you keep it?" Leah finally spoke, putting Sam more at ease.

"I'm not sure. It just never felt right to get rid of it. I felt like we ended on such a strange note. I mean who has ever heard of a breakup with both parties being unwilling." Sam was trying to be funny but Leah wasn't giving in that easy.

"And now you just expect us to pick up where we left off?" Sam's silence answered for him. Leah shook her head. "Sam. You married my cousin. You had a baby with my cousin. You bossed me around as a wolf and underestimated me. You broke my heart. There's nothing left to pick up from!" Sam exhaled slowly as a sign of agitation.

"You know, I thought you'd hate the beach after what he di-"

"Shut up Sam!" Leah pounded the ground as she screamed at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it okay. It just makes me so mad how you can forgive _him_ so easily but you hold something over my head for years that you know I had no control over!" He nearly screamed back at her.

"First of all who said I'd forgiven Tre?"

"You give him what he wants. You let him in the delivery room. You've practically let him be the father you always have him watching the baby."

"It's _his_ child!" Leah stressed the sentence.

"It's _your_ child! He hasn't-"

"Tell me Sam, do you hate the bed that Emily died on which was probably the same one you laid in to conceive Leonard? Do you hate Leo? Do you hate _your_ son?" Sam didn't respond."Stop making this about him! And from his perspective, he says that he couldn't control what he was doing either."

"So now you're defending him for what he did to you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm asking you how you can accuse him of hurting me worst than you did when you two have the same argument. You said you couldn't control the imprint, he says he couldn't control his alpha."

"He hurt you physically and emotionally."

"I vomited for days after you broke up with me and I took a knife to my wrist once or twice. How's that for physical?" The confession made Sam's face contort and looked as if he were about to be ill himself. "Don't worry, that phase ended after about a week. I moved on to breaking things. Why else do you think my dad suddenly wanted to sign me up for a boxing class? You should be glad I was only bitter by the time I turned into a wolf." Leah laughed but it was a hollow sound. Sam didn't respond. _I don't know why I told him all of that. Time to change the subject._ "At least he didn't tell me he loved me before he hurt me. It makes it a lot easier to forgive a stranger without all that history." Sam sniffed after a few moments and Leah cringed, hoping against hope that he wasn't crying. Now she really refused to look at him. "He knows that what's done is done, there's no going back so he's trying his best to make things right. I know that even if I don't always respond the way I should. And that doesn't mean I forgive him it just means that I understand what he's trying to do." Sam moved closer to her again and knelt down.

"I want you to have this," he placed the ring down in the sand next to Leah. "Even if you never put it on, I just want you to know that I always loved you even when I couldn't properly show it." He rose back to his full height and turned to walk away. "And that I truly am sorry for everything I've put you through." He called back over his shoulder. When Leah made no move to acknowledge him he continued on. She didn't move until the sounds of his muffled footsteps had completely disappeared. _At least the same beautiful sunset doesn't let me down.

* * *

_

"Jump Seth!" Seth didn't jump. He ended up getting knocked on his back. "If he tries to knock your feet out from under you like that, you have to jump. Possibly to the side so that you can get a good kick in on your way down as well. Especially if you're in wolf form, you'll have four legs use them all." A hand extended to help Seth back to his feet. He grabbed it and was pulled up effortlessly.

"Yeah I'll remember that. Thanks Tre."

"No problem."Tre turned to address Seth's sparring partner." And good job Solomon. I didn't think you had such good moves in you." Solomon grinned and looked down at the ground.

"Well I watched a couple of Bruce Lee tapes last night." He admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Not to mention the three hours he spent playing Mortal Kombat at my house!" Brady called from across the clearing where he had just finished a sparring round with Collin.

"Yeah and he would try to mimic all of the fatalities!" Collin added. The two friends laughed as Solomon grew more embarrassed.

"Okay go another round." Tre insisted to get Solomon out of the spotlight. Seth and Solomon both took starting stances. It became painfully obvious that neither of them were fighters. Seth looked apprehensive, not quite sure where to hold his hands. He looked over at the younger teen who was trying out a Liu Kang starting pose. The round wouldn't have a definitive start, it would being when someone would lunge at the other. That person was never Seth. Solomon would do the starting attack and Seth would fall into a defensive position. Seth blocked most attacks but Solomon would usually win after using a surprise attack that ended in Seth getting knocked to the ground one way or another. "C'mon Seth you need to fight back." Tre urged him. Seth tried to block him out as Solomon's swift punches increased in speed. "You can't expect to defeat the panthers if all you're doing is blocking."

"Yeah Seth hit me back."Solomon urged between punches he was delivering."This isn't a video game, the round's not gonna end because time ran out." He delivered three more punches to Seth's upper body before side swiping Seth and causing his legs to involuntarily buckle.

"Why aren't you fighting back? You've been trying to block him for three days now." Seth could tell that Tre was frustrated with him although the older man was trying to hold it in.

"I…uh… why aren't we in wolf form? That's the form we'll be in for the battle." Seth half whined.

"Because it's easier to fight in wolf form if you already know how to in human form. It'll make you more aware of your body parts and how to use them. Not to mention the panthers who are the best fighters are excellent fighters in both forms. They could very well show up in human form and try to take you on." Tre explained. Seth nodded his head having heard the explanation the first day they started working on combat.

"Yeah Seth, just imagine I'm…"Solomon looked around as he thought of something. "Mr. Frier the bio teacher. He almost failed you last year didn't he?" Seth shot Solomon a look clearly telling him he'd said too much. Solomon didn't notice. "I'm not Solomon. I'm Doug Frier." Solomon lowered his voice to sound like the old man. Seth chuckled softly.

"That's what it is isn't it?" Seth snapped his head back to Tre. "You can't fight him because he's your friend." Tre didn't pose it as a question.

"In wolf form it's a little easier to forget who I'm…fighting." Seth admitted quietly. Tre looked on with admiration for the younger teen but he knew that Seth needed to learn to fight. "I mean I've rough housed before I just don't really like to-"

"Okay then. Fight me." Tre said quickly, cutting off Seth's rambling.

"Wha-"

"You don't want to fight your friends I get it." Tre turned from Seth to Solomon. "Why don't you go referee Brady and Collin's fight." He suggested and the teen ran off. Tre turned back to Seth as he moved to stand in Solomon's vacated spot. "And it won't be a problem because you won't be fighting your friends at the battle. You'll be fighting panthers, like me so you'll get the best practice in."

"I don't understand how this changes-"

"This changes everything because Seth, I'm not your friend. It'll be easier to fight me, someone who you have legit reason to despise. When you're fighting me think about all the things that I've done to your sister." Tre slid easily into a crouch. "And if that isn't enough, think about all the things I probably did to torture my little sister who just happens to be your imprint." Seth wasn't sure why he kept getting into situations with this guy where he wanted Seth to fight him, but this time he probably should comply. It also didn't help his self control when he started thinking about all the numerous ways older brothers could torture their little sisters growing up. "Just remember Seth, this all to make you a better soldier on the field." With that Tre sprung at Seth. Seth was able to respond by ducking and pushing Tre farther over him causing the older man to stumble when he landed. "Good move."

"Thanks." Seth said as he quickly moved to an upright position and turned around to face his opponent again. Tre didn't make any sudden movements. He gave Seth a 'come hither' motion with his hands. Seth complied. He swung at the older man but Tre easily dodged the punch and returned with one of his own. Seth managed to block the punch with both hands but it left the rest of him vulnerable. Tre took advantage of that and swung a leg to kick Seth in the side. Seth stumbled to the side but didn't fall.

"Remember to keep your whole body pro-"

"I know I know." Seth panted. Tre didn't finish. Seth noticed how light the guy was on his feet based on how he seemed to hop in place waiting for Seth to rise to his feet again. Seth lunged at him but stopped short. Tre braced for an attack. Seth moved as if he were about to hit Tre in his upper body but ended up swinging a leg around and swiping Tre from behind. It caused Tre to stumble forward straight into a fist.

"Oh god! Tre, are you ok?" Seth panicked when the older man doubled over.

"Stop being such a pansy Seth and kick him while he's down." Seth heard Paul yell from somewhere in the clearing.

"That was a great trick move Seth." Tre said as he started to right himself again. "Remember it for the battlefield." Tre immediately lunged for Seth who should have been expecting such a quick attack. The packs fought in the clearing for three hours before the alphas called it a night. Seth had only won a handful of the fights he fought against Tre but the older man assured Seth that he was getting better each time.

"Who were you _supposed _to be sparring with?" Seth asked Tre as he gathered his things.

"Sam but he left early." Tre shrugged. _That's strange._

"Do you know why?"

"Nope but it might have something to do with your sister. As soon as she showed up, he made up some sorry excuse about needing to check on something and then he never came back." Most of the guys had left the clearing by now. Seth wondered what had happened between Leah and Sam. She hadn't spoken more than a few words to him since their last date which also happened to be the babies' birthday. _Must've been a horrible date. _

"Well I guess I'm gonna head home now…where are you headed?" Seth asked warily. No one really kept tabs on Tre's whereabouts anymore. He just always showed up when he needed to.

"I'll probably go running for a little bit. I was gonna go see the baby but Leah said Kim was watching her. After the run I'll probably just hit the hay."

"Oh so…where have you been staying?" Tre hesitated before answering.

"…around." Seth nodded realizing he wasn't going to get more of an answer out of the other male. "See ya later Seth." Tre ran farther into the forest, his two feet quickly turning into four.

* * *

A/N: FYI: these two scenes happened on different days, so yes Sam is still moping


	30. Chapter 29

_Water bill…Sue Clearwater…Electric bill…me…Seth…Sue Clearwater…T. Foster…Sue Clear- wait a minute! ? _Leah stomped back into her house after having retrieved all the mail from the box. As soon as the front door closed behind her, Seth barreled into the kitchen.

"Cool, mail's here! Did my Game Informer come?" Seth asked eagerly. She tossed the magazine to Seth. Besides looking forward to the occasional birthday card, that was the only mail he'd been receiving once a month for the past six years.

"You _should_ be getting college acceptance letters by now." Leah said in her chastising voice but it was weak considering her mind was preoccupied by the piece of mystery mail in her hand. "Do you know if Myra's been getting mail sent here?" Seth looked back at his sister, lowering the magazine while doing so.

"I don't think so…" Seth replied unsure. "Why, does she have some?"

"Well…" Leah wasn't sure if she wanted to clue him in on envelope. "I was just wondering because she has been living here for months now, it would only make sense for her to change her address." Seth smiled and Leah could only guess he was internally rejoicing at the fact that there was just another thing to tie him to his baby mama. Suddenly he frowned again.

"Then where was her mail going when she was in the other pack. Based on what she tells me, they were pretty nomadic, travelling the world in search of other shape-shift-"

"Yeah yeah I know what they were doing" Leah said sharply, cutting off his long winded explanation. Leah thought for a moment. "Maybe she had a P.O. box."

"Had?" Seth questioned skeptically. "Is there a particular reason why you're using the past tense?" He paused and Leah hoped he would drop the subject. "She has mail in there doesn't she?" _Darn that kid for getting so smart. _

"So what if she does?" Leah tried to appear casual as she moved to the other side of the table separating her and Seth. "What are you gonna do about it?" She challenged. Seth smirked. He slowly placed his magazine on the table.

"Nothing…" he said calmly. "…much," he then threw himself effortlessly over the table towards Leah who dodged and ran through the house to get away from him. Their game of chase lasted for a few minutes before Leah ran into her room. "You're fast but not fast enough." Seth taunted just as Leah tried to close her bedroom door. Seth managed to shove half his body in to stop her. They both knew he could easily overpower her hold on the door but his laughter was hindering his effort, what with one hand clutching his over worked diaphragm and the other pushing on the door. Leah pulled the envelope addressed to T. Foster out and studied it some more. "Who's it from?" Seth asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. Leah raised an eyebrow at him although he couldn't quite see it from his angle.

"I don't know, there's no return address." Leah answered him as she turned the envelope over in her hands. _Feels pretty light._

"What if it's from the panthers?" Seth had a panicky tone to his voice. Leah knew his imagination would start to run wild soon. "What if they sent some toxic powder to her or something?" His eyes bugged. Leah smacked his head without looking at his still lodged body.

"It just feels like one piece of paper in here." Leah assured him. Before Seth could protest the front door could be heard being opened again.

"I'm home!" It was Sue. Leah immediately relinquished her hold on the door causing Seth to stumble into her room at the lack of opposing force and landing on his face on the floor. Leah jumped over him and ran downstairs to meet their mother.

"Hey mom. Where's the kids?" Leah asked as she sat the mail down the table.

"They're in the car still. I didn't want the neighbors to see." Seth entered the kitchen. "Oh. Good. Seth, be a dear and go bring the kids in for me. You two know I can't move as fast as you can to keep those babies hidden." Sue explained. It had been for 'safety' reasons to keep the kids hidden from the local public until a good amount of months had passed. The only baby known on the reservation was Leonard, so only one kid could be around town at once. The elders had deemed it necessary for Leah and Tamyra to continue to wear baggy clothes as well, to masquerade as if they were still pregnant. Leah thought the rule was stupid especially when she heard Tenia had recommended it. Seth ran to the car at super human speed and almost instantly returned holding both baby carriers. Sue eyed the pile on the table. "Anything good in there?"

"Nope, just some bills. I think you might've got a catalogue." Leah told her mother as she handed her the pile of mail, discreetly keeping hold of her mail along with what she suspected was Tamyra's mail. Seth sat both carriers on the center of the table. The noise effectively woke both babies. Leah's baby didn't cry, she simply opened her eyes suddenly and began looking around. Sahara on the other hand immediately started wailing. Seth tried to calm her down quickly but her crying immediately turned to yowling as she phased. Seth rolled his eyes in false irritation as she started to gnaw on her carrier restraints. Leah used the distraction to walk over to the window and hold the envelope up to natural light. She couldn't really make out what was inside.

"Why don't you just open that Leah, instead of staring at it." Sue encouraged her daughter. Seth cut in before Leah could answer just as he caught Sahara before she could run away.

"She can't. That's a crime."

"A crime?" Sue gasped. "Whose mail is it?"

"I think it's Tamyra's." Leah admitted while turning the envelope at odd angles to try to decipher it. "It's addressed to T. Foster but there's no return address." Sue shrugged.

"It's probably just a check from her father." Sue's statement caused everyone to stop moving, including the babies.

"A check?" Leah asked.

"From her father?" Seth added. Sue looked between her two children curiously, as if she were waiting for someone to tell her she was being punk'd.

"She's been receiving them every two weeks. She's been paying me for the months she's been here. I told her she didn't have to but she insisted. Actually her brother paid me for the first month they were here, but when he…well you know. She did after that." Both siblings shared a perplexed look. Sue rolled her eyes at both of her kids and Leah wanted to smile knowing where she'd got the habit from. "She told me that their parents are pretty wealthy and they know very little about their kids' whereabouts, only that it's dangerous lifestyle and involves them being away for long periods of time. She said they cut a deal with their folks. The parents provide their income so long as at least one of them promises to return to the family business when their father gets too old to handle it himself." She explained very quickly. Leah and Seth's expressions hadn't changed.

"Myra's loaded?" Seth asked. Leah scoffed.

"You didn't know? Shouldn't you guys discuss these things?" Seth scratched his head.

"I think she might've tried to tell me once but…" he trailed off thinking.

"But what?" Leah snapped, growing frustrated with her brother's faltering answers.

"Well you got me all flustered when you said I couldn't take care of my family on minimum wage. I probably wasn't listening to her when she said we didn't have much to worry about for now."

"Well what did you think she meant?" Leah screeched.

"I thought she was just being optimistic." He whined. _Idiot._

"Optimism is your job. She's a realist." Leah turned to her mom then. "So, she's just been shaving you off a piece each time?"

"She said she was going to give a little more to help with the babies." _Her brother must've put her up to that. _"She says she and Tre insists on the payments." _Of course._

"Tell him he can take his fake child support and shove it elsewhere." Leah said earning a disgusted sound from her mother.

"That's no way to speak around the babies, Leah." Sue scolded her.

"Mom, they don't know what I'm saying." Leah argued although her mother still thought otherwise. "I'm just saying that I don't want his father paying child support. His _father_ isn't the one that _raped_ me."

"I think it's only temporary. He's been doing a few odd jobs around town to earn money since he's been back. He usually does that when they settle in a place for longer than a few weeks." Again, Seth and Leah shared a look.

"Mom, how do you know all this?" Leah asked.

"I'm a widow with two teen wolf kids that I hardly see, a boyfriend that works 50 hours a week, and I'm on a council with old men. My hobbies include gossiping with any female within a ten year age range of myself and bragging about how smart my children are. In about 6 more months, I can drop both of you and start bragging about how I have the two most gorgeous grandkids on the planet." Sue glanced at both of her kids. "Just to sum that up, I know everything, and Tamyra tells me stuff when I corner her without either of your knowledge." A few moments passed in silence between the three before Leah spoke.

"Mom, have I told you how much I love you lately?"

* * *

_This is the song that never endsssssss cause it goes on and on my friend! _

_Shut up._

_Some people started singin it not knowin what it was_

_Shut up!_

_And we'll just keep on singin it forever just because_

_Shut up!_

_This is the song that never endssss cause it goes on and on-_

_SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!_ Seth was torn between laughing at Jacob's outburst from Quil's song or keeping quiet. Unfortunately they were all phased so his thought process was known to all.

_I'd go with laughing. It was pretty humorous. _Brady encouraged.

_Brady what are you doing phased? You're not on patrol. _Collin stole the question right out of Seth's…mind.

_Neither are you. _Brady retorted. _I came to find Seth actually. _Seth immediately realized that Brady had been on a hunting mission for Sahara. _She's not on the Rez._ Seth confirmed that she wasn't, having become accustomed to the younger teen's daily adventure of sniffing out his daughter, and informed him that Rosalie and Esme wanted to watch the babies for the day. He could sense the other's hesitation at going to the Cullens. Even though he'd become familiar with them, he was wary of showing up unannounced without any of the other pack members in tow. _Hey Collin, you up for a trip? _

_Not on your life. _Collin answered, already knowing where Brady was going with the question. Disappointment and rejection flooded everyone's minds. _C'mon man, I shouldn't be feeling bad about my own answer. _Collin whined to Brady. There was no retort. Brady just made an excuse about needing to do homework and said a quick goodbye. Seth couldn't help but notice the distance that had come between his two friends. _Don't get all sappy on me Seth. _Seth apologized. He noticed that their two older friends had yet to respond.

_Either of you have any witty side remarks? _Seth asked.

_Nope. _Jacob said quickly

_Just listenin. _Quil added. Seth continued on his run. He could clearly make out Collin's wolf jogging a few hundred feet ahead of him. He was picking up speed to catch up to his younger friend when he felt someone phase.

_Leah? _Jacob was the first to identify her. _What brings you out here on this lovely day?_

_I need to talk to y… _Seth watched as her thoughts trailed off as soon as an image flooded all their minds. It had come so quickly that the damage was already done before Seth could even comprehend what he'd just seen. At the sound of Leah's name Collin had inadvertently showed the whole group a flash of one of his recent adventures into the nursery at the Cullen mansion. Seth noted from the memory that Sahara and 'Leah jr.' were both asleep in their cribs. Collin had poked his head in to look at them both. The only fact that Leah picked up on was the fact that her child was in his vicinity and he was not blindfolded.

_Leah, I swear it was an accident! _Collin rushed his apology although it was painfully clear that Leah was on route to his location fast and she looked livid. _We were on break from training and I went exploring in the house and I happened upon-wait Leah nothing happened, I didn't imprint- _His coherent thoughts were cut off as Leah threw her entire force into tackling the younger wolf. Seth worried for his friend, knowing the guy was an okay fighter but not nearly as good when he was nervous on top of going against an angry Leah. He wasn't sure if he should pry them apart or let Leah get out her frustrations. Seth searched Jacob and Quil's minds only to discover they were still playing the part of passive observers.

_Leah…Leah…Leah, you're hurting Collin! _Seth's calls were in vain. Leah was focused on one thing and one thing only.

_You…must …pay. Never…look…at…my…daughter! _Leah had separated each word with an attack.

_She was asleep! _He tried to explain but the sound of his voice caused Leah to bite down on one of his limbs that were too close to her mouth.

_I don't care! _Collin was whining and whimpering in pain. At this point Jacob decided to step in.

_That's enough Lee. _Instantly Leah dislodged herself from Collin although she was still panting angrily. Collin righted himself then backed away from her. _What did you need? _Leah glared at Collin for a few more seconds before sorting her thoughts and answering him.

_I need to talk to you. Alone. _She emphasized the last part. Collin instantly complied, phasing back to human on the spot. Quil waited to snicker suggestively at Leah's statement then shed his wolf form as well. _That includes you too kid. _Leah was addressing the still phased Seth. He hesitated, not having come to terms entirely with the fact that there were things she entrusted to their alpha more than to him. Then he instantly wanted to smack himself for letting that thought slip. Leah sighed. _It's not that Seth, it's just this involves Jake more than anyone else. _How she was able to refer to the topic so vaguely without letting it slip through in her thoughts both astounded and annoyed Seth. Even so, he followed her orders- _Requests._

_What? _He asked confused.

_It was a request. _Seth thought about how harsh her tone was. _Well it was meant as a request. Not an order. If you want to eavesdrop, I won't stop you. _Seth considered the notion then thought about how civilized his sister was acting after having so recently lost her temper.

_I think I'll go spend some time with Myra. _He stated and was lying naked on the forest floor a moment later.

* * *

_So Lee, what's up? _Jacob asked his beta as soon as they were alone in the pack mind. Leah trotted over to where he was in the woods, then seated herself on her hind legs, before looking at him in a way that was a wolf-like glare.

_You are 'Oh wise' Alpha. _Jacob knew that the fact that she'd resorted to older pet peeves of his, meant that something was bothering her, and it had been for a long time. _You're right it has been a long time, although it wasn't until recently that I realized how dire the situation is. _Leah had to agree with her brother's observations. She had gotten very good at hiding her thoughts in wolf form. She attributed it to the fact that she now had two people in her thoughts 24/7, the pack in her mind while I wolf form, the other pack included when they were training, and Edward Cullen whenever she was at the vamp mansion.

_What'd I do now? _Jacob whined in a joking matter hoping to alleviate the mood. Leah didn't budge. Instead she narrowed her eyes more, trying to intensify the glare. _Uh-oh it must be serious. _Leah wasn't amused.

_This is serious Jacob Black. _Leah watched as Jacob managed a fake shiver of fear as she said his full name. Again Leah showed no amusement. Jacob caved.

_Okay, jokes aside. What's the matter? _Leah recognized his semi-serious tone and she relaxed her position.

_Jacob, I've been focusing on my problems and my worries a lot recently. It was causing me a lot of stress… you know the whole ripping my hair out thing. _Jacob didn't laugh even though he knew she was joking with the last segment. _And it made me think of how we uh…first bonded. How we had such similar problems and I guess I was feeling a little…jealous when I assumed you were living in sunshine land with the vampires and Ness. _Jacob started to agree but she cut him off. _That's when I realized that you aren't living in sunshine land and haven't been for months now. _Leah paused to let the information sink into her alpha's mind_._ He didn't respond immediately so Leah figured he was contemplating what she'd said.

_Okay…why am I not in sunshine land? _Leah huffed realizing he'd missed what she was talking about.

_I've come to call it the Magnificent Trio. _Jacob didn't get it.

_Is that some new band? _Leah pushed the urge away to hit him.

_Yeah…_she said playing along, _and it's members are you, Embry, and Billy. _It only took a second for Jacob to realize what she was confronting him about and he groaned in response. _I don't care if you think everything's fine. You can't go through life, ignoring your father, your best friend and brother and think life's just gonna be honky dory. Not to mention, this whole playacting and pretend happening between the packs, making us work together like a real family, is only temporary. _Jacob shifted uncomfortably. _As soon as the battle is over, we're gonna be back at each other's throats because the only other thing occupying your two stubborn minds _Leah stated referring to both Jacob and Embry, _is the fact that you guys share the same dad._

_I don't see how that's important right- _Jacob started to protest but Leah cut him off again.

_Someone needs to tell you because obviously no else is tough enough to stand up to you. _Leah said raising to all four paws and walking closer to Jacob. _You can't blame this on Embry and you need to learn to forgive your dad._

_I can't. _

_Then at least talk to him. Rachel told me that you haven't been home in months. You can't keep running like this or ignoring it or whatever you think you're doing! _Leah wasn't screaming mentally but the combination of seriousness and sincerity in her voice settled uncomfortably with Jacob. _There is a battle. In a month. The biggest we've had yet. The most dangerous. We don't know what'll happen. Embry could die. You could die. Heck you both could. And how will that make Billy feel? To know that in a month's time he could lose a son he's known since before he was born and a son he couldn't acknowledge until a few months ago. This blockade you've put between yourself and LaPush is affecting more than just you! _Jacob didn't respond immediately. He didn't like the conversation and he wished he could avoid it as well.

_I'm not trying to be selfish about this but-_

_Well you are! And I'm here to tell you to stop. I'm not going to let you go through what could potentially be your last month of life, wasting what precious time you have left with your father. _Jacob didn't want to acknowledge the strange timbre that had made its way into Leah's convicting voice but he couldn't help it.

_You're sounding more and more like an alpha Lee. _He half joked. _I may have to watch my job._

_You're going to LaPush right now. _Leah ordered him. Jacob again sensed the strange command in her tone and although he didn't become subject to it, it was strong enough for him to recognize it for it what it was.

_Why now? _ Leah immediately thought about a recent conversation in which Kim revealed that Embry was having some alone time with Tenia which was going on as they were speaking. Before the entire conversation replayed back Leah, slipped back into human form, leaving a questioning look on the russet wolf's face.

"Because I said so!" Leah responded indignantly while covering as much of herself as she could. Jacob phased back as well.

"Sure sure." He answered and the two changed into their clothes as they ran to LaPush. When they arrived outside of Tenia's house, Leah knocked loudly.

"Call! We need you out here!" She yelled. There was some shuffling and hurried footsteps. Tenia was the one to answer the door, dressed in only a robe, that she'd obviously thrown on herself in a hurry.

"What do you want?" Tenia attempted in a polite manner although it came out annoyed.

"I asked for Embry didn't I?"

"Yes well this is my house so you can question me." She said. Leah crossed her arms.

"Actually this is your daddy's house. He just bought this for you because he was sick of seeing Embry's butt in Makah-" Tenia turned her head and finally noticed Jacob standing a few feet behind Leah, looking uncomfortable.

"Jacob? What are you doing here?" Tenia asked, a look of confusion and irritation on her face. Jacob looked up. Both were ignoring Leah's peeved look at being ignored by the teenage female.

"We came to see Embry." Jacob answered half heartedly. Tenia turned to call Embry but he instantly appeared at her side, repeating his imprint's questioning. Before Jacob could answer Leah did.

"You are coming with me." Leah said as she reached for Embry's wrist, pulling him out of the door. Tenia made a move to follow. "Just the three of us!" She said throwing a glare at the girl, stopping her in her tracks. Leah didn't elaborate and it left Embry looking completely confused as he was dragged through the streets like a little kid by Leah along with Jacob. The other alpha had resigned himself and grumbled under his breath. Leah stopped them in front of the Black's house. She pushed them up to the door and knocked. Paul answered. When he took note of the company, his eyes momentarily bugged.

"Hey Rach, I'll swing by later. Billy the door's for you." He called before sprinting down the steps. Billy rolled to the door, and his reaction was similar to Paul although he could not be excused. Leah decided it would be her job to break the awkward silence.

"Billy, no need to thank me. I brought your bull headed sons by. You're all going to sit down and sort through your feelings or whatever it is that macho men do and all that jazz. Remember the first step to recovery-"

"Acknowledge that _you_ have a problem?" Embry asked accenting the 'you' to mean Leah.

"Knowing that you never go against Leah." She retorted. Billy half smirked, although he threw a few wary looks at his two sons. She shoved the two boys into the house. "They're all yours Billy." Leah said. He nodded his head. Leah watched as the two walked farther in and chose to stand at opposite sides of the small living room.

"I guess one day I'll thank you for this Leah?" Billy asked jokingly.

"Yeah you will." Leah turned to leave as Billy chuckled. She stopped when she was almost out the door. "Oh and Billy?" Leah called. The old man looked up at her, laughter still in his eyes. "You still owe my dad 75 bucks." She shut the door muffling the outside world to Billy's guffaws.

* * *

A/N: I'm thinkin about having the Jacob/Embry/Billy argument as an extra scene but who knows


	31. Chapter 30

"Sahara…say daddy. Say it. Da-dee. Dad? Daddy?" Seth made exaggerated facial expressions and mouth movements as he tried to get his one month old to speak. Quil was busy tickling Claire and Jacob sat listening to Renesmee's thoughts on the Laws of thermodynamics. They were all sat on an obscure section of the beach, mainly out of protection for Seth, who'd managed to kidnap his daughter from Brady. Sahara could not be seen by anyone since Rachel was prancing around town with Leonard. This confined Leah at home with her baby along with Tamyra. Sahara watched her father's antics with curious eyes. She didn't respond, outside of smiling and drooling.

"Uncle Seth?" Claire approached him. She was biologically the oldest of the girls present but Renesmee looked and carried herself as if she were older than the girl standing in front of him. "I don't think Sahara can talk yet." She said decidedly. Seth smiled and agreed.

"I know, I just wanted to see if we had another little genius on our hands." Seth said as he tossed the baby into the air lightly. Sahara laughed and promptly phased in mid air. Seth groaned as the girl ran away from him in panther form. Since her blindness in her animal form had cleared, she'd gotten even harder to catch since she wasn't just depending on her senses of smell and hearing. Renesmee noticed Seth's dilemma in catching his speedy daughter so she excused herself from Jacob's presence.

"Uncle Seth, would you like me to assist you?" She called sweetly. Seth was already in a full blown sprint after the girl who was playing with him. Seth nodded slightly and the half vampire took off, managing to catch up to the two. Claire covered her mouth with her hands and laughed, the sound making Quil glance at her and smile in pure glee.

"Seth, if Ness comes back here with your daughter, I'm officially pinning you as slow poke of the pack!" Jacob taunted. Sure enough, Renesmee was skipping back to the group with the small panther snuggled in her arms. She handed her package back to Seth who managed to turn the panther into a child once more after some gentle petting and cooing. Jacob and Quil chuckled under their breaths at their friend as Seth placed his daughter on her blanket in the sand.

"I'm thinking we should have another bonfire." Quil said after the group had settled into relative silence. Jacob turned to his friend first.

"A bonfire?" He asked. Quil shrugged.

"Yeah, like another get together. A big shebang! A last shindig!" He elaborated. Seth, one to jump on board for any communal get-togethers with friends shoved his older friend.

"Ok, but why is it a 'last'? You make it sound so final?" Seth asked. This caused Jacob to look at the two curiously.

"Yeah, Quil, don't tell me you're having pessimism tendencies too." Jacob sound a little worried but Seth figured he was trying to mask it behind humor.

"I'm just thinking. I mean everyone knows about your family meeting with your dad and Embry." Quil and Seth chose to ignore the groan that came from Jacob. "And no one knows what's going to happen at the battle…" Quil trailed off. The three friends stared off into the ocean, alone in their thoughts of the looming battle. Their little girls peered at them remaining silent in some cases and in others just realizing the somber moment passing over their guardians.

* * *

"Okay, who got the pups drunk?" Leah exclaimed as she walked onto the beach towards the large fire. Collin had just stumbled by her with Fluffy Hair kid on his arm. They were laughing about something they'd looked up on Youtube. She made her way toward the food table where Rachel, Kim, and Tamyra were stationed. She was carrying her child in the baby carrier, having covered her face from any curious eyes. When she had received the news about the bonfire she had anticipated on leaving her child with Sue but after hearing Sue's news this morning, she resigned herself to bringing the child along.

"Leah," Kim started once she spotted Leah and waved her over. "I heard about Sue and Charlie's engagement." She gushed. Leah could tell the other girl was excited but decided to conceal her giddiness until she heard Leah's reaction.

"Yeah. I'm happy for her." Leah replied honestly although she couldn't say that's how she responded when she'd first heard the news. A lot of yelling had occurred, and a few curses in the name of her dead father had escaped Leah's lips. Leah eventually remembered her dream father's acceptance of her mother's and Charlie's relationship and she simmered down. It also didn't hurt that Seth had entered the scene around that time. Kim's smile threatened to break her face. Rachel had been watching the exchange with subdued interest. When Kim smiled, Rachel revealed a grin of her own but hers was one of more mischief. Tamyra was organizing condiments on the table, pretending to ignore the conversation. "She deserves someone that makes her happy." Leah continued.

"Wow, Leah. You've grown up. I would've thought you'd burn down half of LaPush when you heard." Rachel admitted. She added a laugh at the end hoping Leah would realize it was a joke. Leah decided to keep her on her toes for a little while.

"Hmm, guess you haven't been home today…" Leah trailed off. Rachel's smile fell but when Leah smirked, she knew the other girl was joking.

"Oh, Leah you need to just shut up!" Rachel went to hit Leah on the arm but ended up hurting herself in the process. "Ow, crap. Leah I keep forgetting how tough you are." Rachel said softly as she inspected her injured hand. Kim began looking over it. Leah took the time to watch the people that had arrived. None of the parents had been invited to this bonfire, as it was strictly a get together for the pack members and imprints. She noted the empty baby carrier near her brother who was standing near the fire talking with Quil and Solomon. Brady, she noted was cuddling some blankets in his arm that she assumed were Sahara.

"Hey, where's little Miss Ten-Ten?" Leah asked the girls around her. "Shouldn't she be helping you guys?" Rachel scoffed.

"The chick thinks she's too good to cook anymore."

"I think she wanted to oversee things tonight." Kim offered. The glance that she'd shared with Rachel indicated that she wasn't telling Leah everything. _Or she's just sugar coating it. _

"So she's being lazy tonight?" Neither answered. Leah caught Tamyra's smirk out of the corner of her eyes. The girl obnoxiously cleared her throat before addressing Leah.

"I think she's talking with Embry, Sam, and Jacob right now." She said nonchalantly. _I don't think she belongs there, do you? _She added mentally. Leah returned the smirk before determinedly stalking off in the direction of the 'leaders' circle. She found them a ways off, closer to the water.

"Hey Jake. Hey Call. Sam." Leah met each of their eyes. The first met hers with a happy smile, the second a look of irritation and the third a look of discomfort. "Tenia." The final look was one of pure unadulterated fear.

"L-Leah." Tenia stuttered. When she didn't continue, Leah raised her hand that wasn't holding onto the baby carrier and let it rest on her hip.

"I think you're needed to help with the food." Leah said. Tenia promptly pecked Embry on the cheek and power walked back to the food table. Leah really could care less about who cooked the food. If it had been left up to her, she'd be making the guys cook it themselves but she couldn't pass up another chance to get under the teenager's skin. _Who knows how many more of those I'll have. _ When the girl's step had gotten far enough away, Leah took her place in the circle. "So what did I interrupt?" Leah asked with fake pleasantry. Embry was now scowling at her although he knew not to oppose her, especially with Jacob nearby.

"Just talking about what we're planning for the next few weeks." Jacob said with a wave of his hand. Leah nodded. "We'd talk about specifics but Tre isn't here so…" Leah understood the unasked question as he trailed off.

_Myra, is your brother coming? _

_Not unless I'm needed. _The deep mental voice that responded startled Leah. _Sorry I guess I haven't completely gotten used to having you in my head and… not having you in my head?_ His uncertainty didn't completely carry over into Leah's brain waves. The two had managed to ignore each other mostly, neither being able to truly feel the other's emotions, unless they were of an intense concentration.

_Okay then. _Leah turned back to the group in front of her. "He's not going to be here unless he's needed." The guys shared a look between them.

"I guess he doesn't need to come." Jacob finally said. Leah didn't respond mentally because she could tell that Tre, had heard the answer to the unformed question from her mind. "So you got a name for Leah 2?" Jacob asked causing both he and Embry to laugh. Sam was still giving Leah the cold shoulder. She didn't blame him but she couldn't help the slight hurt she felt at being ignored.

"Nope. It'll come to me though." Leah assured them. This prompted Embry to recall a story his mother had told him about some kid she grew up with in Makah whose parents didn't name him until he was 13.

"Are you kidding Em?" _Nicknames? I guess they're getting along again. _"What did they call him until then?" Jacob asked him. Embry shrugged.

"I think mom said they would just call him kid or boy. When his parents were angry with him when he was 12 and 13 they'd call him adolescent."

"That's pretty messed up." Jacob concluded. The two guys laughed some more. Their friendlier actions pleased Leah but the mushy feeling didn't last long since they decided to rejoin the party. This left her awkwardly standing alone with her sleeping baby and Sam. They stood only feet apart but the distance between them felt like it went on for miles. Leah was too stubborn to be the one to break the silence and she knew Sam was too proud. They both looked around for an easy escape. They found none. Sam sighed and waited for Leah to start, as he was looking at her expectantly now.

"So…" She took a page out of his book. Apparently she'd already said something wrong because he immediately started to walk past her. She shot her arm out to grab his before he could pass her. "Jerk doesn't look good on you."

"I meant what I said and even though I'm in love with you, doesn't mean I don't feel angry when you continually ignore me." He supplied, jumping straight to the heart of the conversation.

"Funny, I believe I was saying the same thing not too long ago."

"So, you think it's amusing to just torture me like this for revenge?" He asked harshly. When Leah didn't respond he tried to pull out of her grasp but she grabbed him again.

"No, it's not amusing. I'm not trying to torture you. I know what that torture feels like. And as bitter and angry and mean as I used to be, I'm different now and I would never ever wish that on anyone. Not even on you." Leah dropped his arm expecting him to just keep walking but surprisingly he didn't move. He backed up to make an obvious gaze at her naked finger. The engagement ring was nowhere in sight. "It's in my possession still if that gives you any consolation." Leah explained realizing what he was looking for.

"I don't want any consolation. I want you." He insisted. Leah turned away. Leah could feel Tamyra tuning into her thoughts because of her strong vibes she was currently sending off. "Whatever you're going through I can help you. We can help each other. You said so yourself."

"I lied." Leah spurted out before she could stop herself.

"You lied?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"I can't help you Sam. I thought I could, at the time but not anymore. I thought if I had something that was normal, something steady, anything from the past when my life wasn't so topsy turvy that everything else would fall into place. But I've finally realized that nothing's the same. Not you, not what I feel about you. Nothing." Leah's voice cracked. Determined to not lose her composure, Leah lifted the carrier from the ground and turned to leave Sam where he stood. This time he grabbed her.

"Leah-"

"I can't be your moon Sam." She said decidedly just as a cool breeze swept through the area. There were a few drunken cheers in the background as the large fire swayed to one direction. Sam didn't respond and relinquished his hold on her arm. Leah started back towards the fire with baby in tow just as someone yelled to get the crowd's attention.

* * *

"Hey!" Paul yelled promptly quieting everyone in the vicinity. "My little lady has a very important announcement to make." Seth looked to where Rachel and Kim stood facing the large crowd. Their arms were linked in a girly manner and they seemed very excited about something.

"Okay guys, Kim and I have news!" Rachel started. The two women shared a look between each other. "We're getting married!" Seth could hear the jaws drop. Kim picked up on the bewildered looks of the pack. Jacob had just spit out something he was drinking.

"No! Not us!" Kim playfully smacked a now laughing Rachel. "I'm getting married to Jared and Rach to Paul. Both guys proposed and we said yes!" The two started jumping up and down in excitement. Seth couldn't help the smile that crossed his face just as he heard the distant yelling of his sister.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Leah was angry and everyone knew it. Seth remembered the state of rage she was in earlier that day when their mother had told the news of her engagement. Kim looked worried when she heard Leah. "Did I not get the marriage memo or something?" Leah continued her ranting. Seth caught a peek of Tenia urgently saying something into Embry's ear. _Whatever it is sure is making him nervous. _

"I thought Kim and Jared were already engaged?"One of the younger wolves asked. "They have a house together." Surprisingly it wasn't Jared or Kim who answered.

"They had a promise to engage thing going on." Solomon explained to his friend. "Jare hadn't given her a ring." He finished with a wave of his hand as if saying he didn't quite understand it himself. The side conversation hadn't deterred Leah from her ranting though.

"Is there anyone else who has made life changing decisions and would like to share?" She yelled again. Everyone looked around to see who would answer. When someone cleared their throat, Seth and everyone else's head snapped in its direction.

"I actually have something to say." Seth quirked an eyebrow when Collin started speaking, his voice drawling a little from being tipsy. "I've decided that after the battle, I'm switching packs." There were a few gasps. "I'm recognizing Embry as my alpha." A few guys whooped from said pack. Someone's hand came up to pat Collin on the back although he was smiling, it was quickly ended. Seth suddenly found his daughter being thrust into his arms. He turned and watched as Brady stormed off into the woods, trembling violently. Seth frowned then turned and saw that Collin was frowning as well. It immediately morphed into a look of anger but he smoothed it out after a moment. Tamyra was by Seth's side.

"You okay?" She asked him as she reached to smooth out the hair on their daughter's head.

"No." He replied honestly. "But I can't blame him. He's been feeling left out for a while now." Seth leaned his head onto Tamyra's shoulder.

"If it makes you feel any better, you can blame Leah for driving him away since she beat him down last." Seth chuckled although it was laced with sadness.

"I actually have something to say too." The authority in Sam's voice hadn't been heard in a while so everyone snapped to in his direction as he commanded attention. "I've been keeping this hush-hush but I suppose, now is as good a time as ever to announce it." Everyone looked on in anticipation but Seth had an inkling that based on their expressions, both Leah and Embry knew what he was going to say. "This will be my last battle. I'm going to stop phasing when it's concluded. I need to do this for me and for my son." He didn't say anything else. Seth expected some sort of outburst from Paul even Jared but Sam's announcement unlike the others was met with dead silence.

* * *

"Thanks for dinner Mrs. Clearwater!" Brady said just as Sue grabbed her coat after leaving the dining table. She made a hand gesture to wave off his gratitude. Seth gathered all of the empty dishes from the table and threw them into the sink. Leah and Tamyra moved to place the two sleeping babies in their cribs.

"Yeah Sue, that dinner was delicious." Charlie said while lightly patting his stomach. "Best meal I've had in a while." He grinned at his fiance then stood. She returned the grin but stopped when a thought occurred to her.

"My poor dear, has Bella stopped coming over to fix your meals when I'm gone?" Seth paused his dish washing to listen to the exchange.

"She has but …I don't know what it is, it just seems like she's getting worse at cooking." Seth heard a female laugh from somewhere in the house that was disguised as a cough. "Sometimes the meals come out really bland and other times they're too seasoned. I guess it's living the fancy life with those Cullens, she doesn't have to cook anymore and she's forgetting how to." Everyone froze at Charlie's statement. He scratched his head and squinted into some unseen distance. "Has anyone even seen their butler?" Charlie looked around then at all the eyes in the room. There were a few uneasy chuckles. Sue sighed happily and grabbed his arm.

"C'mon Charlie, let's give the kids some space." She pulled him out the door as a few 'goodbyes' were thrown their way. Before the door closed another person ran up to the porch. "Oh hello Quil, the others are already inside. You missed dinner."

"Sorry Mrs. C." Quil looked sheepish while he apologized. "I'm sure it was splendid."

"You're right it was. Now get in there." She mock ordered him. He smiled and complied quickly. Seth had finished washing and drying just as the girls returned from tucking in the babies. Leah jumped up onto a counter.

"So what movie are we watching?" She asked to the room. The newly arrived Quil answered her first.

"I brought Saw 2, 3, and 5."

"Cool, we have Saw 1 and 4." Seth motioned between him and his sister. "We'll have a Saw movies marathon." The guys agreed then turned to the girls who had yet to answer. Tamyra shrugged.

"Blood, guts, gore, and suspense all wrapped into one. I love those movies." With that she moved to the living room.

"Did I mention how much I love you?" Seth asked her as he followed. Leah rolled her eyes at them before hopping off the counter.

"Guess I'm in too." She stated to the two remaining guys. They both grinned at the same time and soon the whole group was packed into the Clearwater living room.

"Hey wasn't Jake supposed to be here?" Quil asked.

"Yeah but he called like five minutes before dinner and said Ness wanted to show him something really 'nifty'," Leah changed her voice to sound like the little girl, the guys all laughed. "So he said he probably wouldn't make it." She finished. Brady had moved to microwave some popcorn and returned when Quil spoke again.

"What about Collin? He's still in our pack, why isn't he here?" Seth was going to answer but Brady made a point of flipping the light switch sending the room into darkness.

"I think it's time to start the movie." Brady said gruffly as he plopped onto the floor with the four bags of popcorn. He distributed them, one to Seth and Tamyra, one to Leah, another to Quil, and he kept the last for himself. Seth started the movie and when they were only five minutes in, it started to rain and thunderstorm outside. Quil was continually laughing at Brady's reactions. It became evident that the guy had never seen the movies. He was on edge the entire time. Seth noticed the wide eyed look his friend had and chuckled as well. "Poor Adam," was all Brady said at the end of the first movie. Seth moved to replace discs and place the second movie in. They had gotten half way through the movie when a loud banging from the front door coupled with a boom of thunder startled them. Brady lost nearly half of his newly popped bag of popcorn when he jumped. Quil snickered at him. Seth moved to get the door but Leah insisted on going. Her gasp alerted everyone in the room and they all bounded to the door.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked the drenched figure standing in the door way.

"It's time." Tre's dark tone informed everyone of exactly what he meant. "The panthers are here."

* * *

A/N:*dramatic music* yes yes two months passed by in like 3 chapters like I said, it was gonna go pretty quick.


	32. Chapter 31

Everyone hesitated for only a moment before they all snapped into action. Tamyra immediately left the room to scoop up both babies. Quil busied himself with shutting down the TV and surrounding equipment. Seth began locking up the house. Brady seemed shell shocked but Leah was too busy staring down Tre in disbelief as if he alone embodied this doomed day they had all been waiting for.

_I'm sorry. _It stung. Just like the first time she'd heard it in his mind. _But we need to get going now. _He repeated the statement verbally to everyone in the house. Leah pulled herself away from him to pull out her cell phone. She dialed the Swan residence but no one answered. _They must still be on their date. _Leah found some paper and wrote a quick note to her mother. It simply read:

_The day is here. Please stay safe. _

_L+S_

She didn't want to put too many details into the letter just in case it fell into the wrong hands. No one knew how the battle would turn out , and as much as everyone else wanted to believe there was no way they could lose, Leah knew someone had to think of every possibility. Especially since it became known that if the panthers won, their first task would be to raid the reservation. Leah could only hope her mother would be in the arms of her fiancé because by then, he would be her only hope for protection. The guys had all emerged back into the kitchen. Leah didn't notice Tamyra until something was being attached to her torso.

"We would make these for the kittens born within the pack. You know the ones without a human parent." She tightened a leather strap around Leah's midsection. "The material is designed to stretch depending what form you're in." She tied something on Leah's back. "It fits to both mother and child. It's snug in case you need to make a run for it." Leah looked down at the strange material. She could only guess that it was some sort of hands free carrier for a baby. Her assumption was correct, since Tamyra soon after slipped the sleeping child into the sack on her front. "Hold on I need to make another one on the side." After a few more tugs and ties, an identical yet loosely hanging sack was attached to Leah. She looked up at Tamyra questioningly. The look Tamyra shot her then towards Seth indicated that she didn't want to speak verbally.

_Why do I need two? _Leah asked the girl mentally.

_Just in case._

_In case of what? We're just carrying the girls to the vamp mansion._

_In case we lose. _Leah hesitated for a moment before responding. She knew denying the possibility would not only be hypocritical of her but would also be igniting false hope.

_That doesn't answer my question. Why do I need two? _Leah stressed the 'I'.

_If the battle goes south, you need to make a run for it. Get to the Cullens, get the girls and leave. I spoke to the Cullens already, they'd make clear passage for you. Rosalie said she'd even hold off the panthers for as long as possible. _The fact that the other girl wasn't including herself in the conversation worried Leah to no end.

_Where are you going to be? _Tamyra broke her eye contact with Leah. She finished tying the carrier she had around herself and slipped Sahara inside. Leah was still eyeing the extra carrier attached to her.

_If it gets too bad, I'll be too focused trying to protect my alphas. You're the only that has a chance of making it._

_Why me? God forbid, but why wouldn't you run with me?_

_If it gets to that point it means that most of the pack is dead. It means that the alphas are down and we'll probably be hanging on by a thread. That means our best fighters will probably be down, Seth will be dead, there will be no way- _Tamyra stopped her rushed thoughts as she looked away again. She took in an uneasy breath. _This imprint is too strong. I can't fight it._

_What are you saying Tamyra?_

_If Seth dies I know without a doubt I will too. _The silence echoed in both their minds. An admittance of this magnitude from the girl in front of her shocked Leah's system. She knew that her brother and her friend had gotten closer, it was to be expected but she hadn't realized how close the connection had become.

_Has it really only been 7 months since you first denied him? _Tamyra let out a breathless chuckle but Leah just continued to gape at her. She knew Tre had listened to the entire exchange but he wasn't offering any assistance. Leah turned to him. He was still soaking wet and had only come a few feet into the house. _Are you really just going to stand there and resign her to that fate? _Tre lowered his gaze but it only took a second for Leah to catch the flash of disappointment and shame in his eyes.

_He tried to fight me on it. _Leah's eyes lingered on Tre's figure for a few more moments before she turned to face Tamyra again. _I told him and…showed him how serious I was about not running. Leah, he knows that I won't run unless Seth runs and Seth is too…loyal to do that. _The way her mental voice trailed off sent Leah into a silent rage. This discussion about her baby brother dying and the thought that they were all expecting her to just live through everything, was unacceptable in her eyes.

_You can't just give up like that! I won't let you. You-you have a child. A daughter! Isn't she enough to keep you living? Sam lost his imprint and he's still alive!_

_Sam lived for you. You said so yourself he looked dead when you found him! I've no doubt he would have just withered away had you never gone into that room. _Tamyra paused. She glanced around and realized the guys were all ready to leave. The house was plunged into darkness. Leah didn't flinch. _I know that Heaven or Hell, where he goes, my soul will get dragged with him. _The solid mix of certainty and fear in those words was probably what softened Leah's argument.

_What about Sahara? _She asked after a moment, her eyes downcast. Tamyra smirked.

_That's why you have two pouches. _Leah looked back to the girl. _You're the only one strong enough to care for both our girls. _Any other day Leah probably would have toyed with the idea of yelling at her friend for dumping such a responsibility on her but right now she just held the gaze of her friend and fellow young mother. "C'mon, we have to get going." The two girls turned and met the eyes of the curious onlookers. They all exited in a relative calm until the rain and cold hit their overheated skin.

"Are the others meeting us wherever we're going?" Leah asked Tre, immediately slipping into her all business tone. Tre turned to her.

"No, I haven't told them yet." Leah stopped in her tracks.

"You haven't told-"

"I was just about to ask Quil if he could go and inform Embry and Sam. And we're headed to the Cullens where Jacob will be." The thought that none of the other alphas knew the battle was so close startled Leah. Tre picked up on her confused thoughts. "Excuse me for being selfish but I look out for my pack first and foremost. You're my alpha female, you were the first one for me to inform naturally." He explained calmly although by this time they had all broke out into a run for the Cullen house. Quil had left them to head farther into LaPush. Neither baby had awoken, snuggled deeply into their mothers' chests. Leah appreciated the fact that the carriers shielded the babies from the weather. She could only imagine the stress of having to carry a child around as a nomad in one the contraptions. They reached the Cullen house in no time.

* * *

Seth was scared. He knew it but he didn't know how many others knew it. It was strange. The weeks leading up to the battle had been surreal. They all knew they were training for a battle. Something that could result in the loss of their lives, or their friends' lives, yet, they hadn't felt the fear that came with heading to the front lines. Seth could only imagine how his body would respond when faced with the oncoming army. He'd looked many vampires in the eyes before having to dismember them. Riley's red orbs flashed before his eyes. He thought about the Volturi battle that wasn't and recalled feeling apprehensive about it but when it all was resolved with fancy wording and wits, he calmed down. He knew that would have been a bloodbath. But this, this was something entirely different. They had little advantage and they were outnumbered. They couldn't make a promise of peace because the enemy was out for blood. _I'm not even at the front lines yet and I'm already freaking out. _Seth took in a deep breath as he slowed to a jog once they reached the Cullens. He looked over to his young friend Brady as the teen ran a nervous hand through his hair. The kid had been through a lot. He'd imprinted which had probably destroyed the friendship with his best friend and he was going into battle knowing there was good chance he'd never see either of them again. Jacob was running to meet them.

"Edward told me he heard you guys coming." The wolf alpha said quickly. He locked eyes with Tre, as Leah and Tamyra headed into the house with their precious bundles attached to them.

"I picked up two of their scents in the south border, I thought it was just a scout but there were traces all around the outskirts." Tre explained to Jacob as the two moved inside.

"How far?" Jacob asked him.

"Nearly 30 miles. I went out farther and circled back. They've been here a little while, maybe a week. We should expect traps." He continued. When they reached the main room, Leah and Tamyra were already handing the babies off to Rosalie and Esme.

"If Edward picks up Leah's thoughts, put the girls in this carrier, it has two pouches. She knows what to do." Tamyra said, looking at Leah who was avoiding her gaze. Seth looked around, he noticed Edward and Bella consoling a distraught Renesmee. The girl's eyes were red. And despite her strength Seth had never seen the girl look so helpless and so human than he saw her then. Jacob was trying hard to hold his own confidence as he continued speaking with Tre, the other man speaking as if he'd done this dozens of times but sullen enough to realize this could be his last. _It can't get easier. _Seth felt a cold hand on his shoulder and turned to see Emmett, Alice, and Jasper standing behind him. Emmett removed his hand and gave Seth a smile. Seth returned it but he could tell it wasn't as bright as usual.

"You guys sure you don't want us there?" The largest vampire asked him. Seth spared a glance at the despairing Brady who took to looking out of the window like a second hobby and almost wanted to tell the vampires to come with them. Then he looked at how Jacob now had his arms wrapped around Renesmee who was sobbing even more. He couldn't risk her family to their same fate.

"Don't worry, we can take em."

* * *

"Remember, that I'll be on hand for any injuries." Carlisle said to the group. They'd all moved back outside. Bella had decided to carry Renesmee into another part of the house. Edward was sharing a few words with Jacob. Leah stole another look towards the babies in arms of the female vampires. Knowing that everyone was counting on her to survive to keep the two little ones safe was enough to crack her but she held firm. Quil broke through the trees at this point.

"The other pack is ready. They're just waiting on instructions on where to go." He yelled as soon as he came into view. Jacob and Tre nodded.

"I'll phase and let them know where we're headed." Jacob turned to the group of shape shifters. "Let's head out." He said. Brady turned first after throwing another glance at his infant imprint. Quil joined him walking back the way he came followed by Tre, then Tamyra, Seth, and Jacob. Leah was the last to leave. She looked each of the vampires in the eyes as she followed her pack into the forest. Jacob turned to the sullen faces following him and smirked. "C'mon guys, we can't go into this battle already defeated." He was trying to be optimistic. He looked to Seth to back him up but even Leah's little brother couldn't share the sentiment. And that worried her.

"Well all I have to say is, if any of you dies, I'll be sure to kill you." Leah stated. This drew the group out of its depression. Jacob phased and informed Embry's pack of where they were all headed. They travelled on two legs, preferring to hit the battle ground in human form. They arrived at a clearing that was surrounded by a dense population of trees. Civilization was nowhere in sight. Leah felt exposed in the clearing. The rain stifled their sense of smell. Tre and Quil assured them that the panthers were close but Leah didn't believe it until two of them appeared from the dense forest.

"Greetings enemies." Damien spoke. He threw his hands in the air as if he were greeting old friends, but the sinister tone in his voice sent a shiver down Leah's spine. That's when she realized her views on him had been heightened by Tamyra's own feelings. An evil female laugh accompanied his voice, belonging to the panther's alpha female Veronica. The acknowledgement of her status, caused a low growl to emanate from Leah's throat. She realized it was similar to how she'd been feeling around Tenia recently although this feeling was much more intense.

"Is this all you guys have to show for the battle?" Tre antagonized the enemy beta. Damien smirked, then did his strange sniffing as if he were looking for something.

"Not at all, but I must say, Terrance, I'll be very disappointed if we came all this way and you haven't been playing by the rules." The statements confused Leah but she didn't let it show. She was currently standing in both her beta spot next to Jacob and her alpha spot slightly behind Tre and she was very visible. The front line had to be uniform and stoic.

"I'm not sure what you mean." The female laughter erupted again, causing an eerie tingle to rumble through Leah's spine.

"Oh, Terrance, don't you know? We can't fight an incomplete pack." Tre didn't respond, still not understanding what she meant. Leah could sense him rifling through memories of pack protocol but he came up null and void. "You're making the same mistake you did last time. Unless you have a complete leadership set, our pack has the right to conquer yours." Tre's mental images swarmed around what Leah assumed to be their first run in with the panther pack, not long after the siblings had first phased. "We see that you have a lovely alpha female. Congratulations by the way on the heir." She said in a phony tone. "But where oh where dear is your beta?" Tre's stone expression faltered as he glanced back at his sister. Damien caught the glance.

"No no. Your sister would be your beta _female_. I want to know who your beta _male_ is." Damien said. He flashed his teeth as if the notion was pleasing to him. Leah could tell Tre was panicking but it was turned quickly to surprise when someone spoke up.

"I am."

* * *

A/N: *wonders if you can guess who just spoke*


	33. Chapter 32

Seth could feel all eyes on him when he spoke up. He didn't know where the assertion had come from but he confidently strolled away from his spot as Jacob's third to Tre's side as his second. Seth was sure people thought this was just an act but when his mind was instantly swarmed with three other voices, he knew he'd done something more permanent.

_Seth, what the heck are you doing? _That was definitely Tamyra.

_Why can he just say he wants to be beta but I have to get sexually assaulted to be alpha? _Seth cringed at Leah's voice.

_Thank you Seth. You didn't have to. _And that was Tre. Seth was pleased that Tre showed gratitude at the action but he'd only acted because the idea that his imprint was going to be taken away from him was not going to happen. _Not now, not ever. _Damien smirked at the new development. Veronica on the other hand looked a little disappointed by the turn of events. _She must've thought we would just give up. _Seth was pulled from his wonderings when his new pack began discussing something mentally.

_Did you feel that? _Leah asked. Tamyra answered.

_Yes, it's as if Tre's alpha is finally…settling down. _

_All because he has a beta now? _Leah asked. She was still peeved at Seth's easy entrance into the pack. He decided to test out the mental conversation.

_Um guys? _They conversation went silent as everyone waited for Seth to continue. _What are you talking about?_

_Tre's alpha has apparently been causing added stress to our lives because as soon as you joined, it felt like two Mack trucks got lifted off our shoulders. _Leah explained. Tre hadn't added anything to the conversation, too busy keeping up his façade yet at the same time being in awe of his new control over his alpha tendencies.

"I think it's time we got started don't you?" Damien asked. Everyone assumed the question to be rhetorical since the pair immediately backed into the cover of the trees. The wolves tensed, some barred their teeth when the hissing poured out from the surrounding trees.

_It's just a scare tactic, form up into your groups. _Without verbally responding to Tre's command, Leah, Tamyra, and Seth moved to join their groups. Seth looked quickly at Tamyra before he sprinted in Jared's direction. The movement signaled to the other wolves that were to move into battle formation. Seth ignored the pattering of the rain on his back. It had yet to let up. Paul, Jacob, Sam, and Tre all moved forward. They were supposed to form the new front line, but that changed when the panthers started to appear. At first there were only a few but then it became obvious that they had surrounded the wolves.

"Not good." Seth heard Jared mutter. It was so quiet, Seth didn't believe he actually heard it.

_Circle up the line everybody. _Seth heard his sister scream into his head. Seth knew they needed to get into wolf form so that messages could be passed easier. He passed the message along, Tamyra did the same. The other groups noticed the movement and caught on. Soon the groups formed an inner circle that stretched the front line to face every corner of the clearing. What happened next surprised Seth, he had anticipated the panthers arriving in one form or the other but half of the members poured into the clearing in panther form while the others were content to stay in human form. Seth didn't have time to panic because almost immediately half of the wolves phased, some from each pack, then the panthers converged.

* * *

_Go for the eye Jared. _Leah had phased and heard Paul scream to his friend. She was busy countering the attacks of a young girl. Her opponent was fast but was most definitely not a fighter. She had ran full speed at Leah in human form then after receiving three punches from Leah, phased and began her assault. Leah swiped at her forelegs. The panther stumbled, Leah took the time to knock her back legs from under her.

_Tre! It's Clarice, I can see her in the distance! _Jacob exclaimed. Leah focused on the panther at her feet. She took a few steps then ran and slammed her body into the downed panther. The black figure flew through the air from the impact, hit a tree causing a loud boom that startled some of the fighters.

_Nice going Lee. Hey watch the face! _She heard Quil.

_We can't go to her yet, there are too many panthers out here. _Tre called back to Jacob. Leah searched for her brother but he still hadn't phased, taking on human opponents. _Leah behind you! _Leah kicked her hind leg out knocking another panther to the ground. She turned and found the opponent groaning. She looked up and caught Collin and Solomon double teaming an opponent. She was pleased to find her group mates holding their own.

* * *

Seth kept throwing punches and kicks. He had already taken down three panthers on his own, although he thought it would be hard to go after them in human form, he simply super imposed red eyes on their faces. _They're the enemy and a threat to my family. _He swung again. His male opponent crumpled to the ground in pain.

"Everybody hold up!" Sam's frantic yelling brought Seth out of his robotic fighting world. He spotted the ex-alpha holding up his hand as he listened for something. Seth looked around and realized that most of the panthers from the first wave were already down, barely moving. Sam's eyes went wide with horror. "Everybody to the trees!" He yelled. No one second guessed him as the wolves attempted to run for cover, but it was nearly too late. The wave of arrows blackened the lightened sky, it was nearly morning. Seth phased to run faster.

_Solomon move! _Seth distinctly heard Collin's voice. In a split second he saw Solomon's slow start to run for cover and he saw Collin running to push his friend out of the way. He heard the howl before the image computed. Solomon rolled into the cover of the trees as Collin wailed in pain from the arrow sheathing itself in his arm.

_Collin get out of there! _There was another wave of arrows, thankfully none hit the already wounded wolf. Seth instantly knew something was wrong. The arrow should not be that painful.

_I can't feel…my arm. _Collin got out before his mental images blurred. Seth started to move toward his friend but was stopped by two things. The first being he glanced at his imprint, who in human form, was standing completely still and her eyes were glowing. The second being that Brady had just sprinted over to their now unconscious friend. He nuzzled him and got no response.

_Brady, get Collin to the Cullens now! _Seth told him. Brady didn't need anyone telling him twice. He grabbed Collin by the neck, threw him onto his back and darted out into the trees. Seth could see through Brady's frantic mind that there were no enemies in the area they were heading. Seth turned to his now shaking imprint. _Tamyra? _He asked as he approached. The concern in his mental voice alerted the two alphas of their pack.

_What's wrong wi- _

_Oh no…_ That was the last thought heard before Tamyra phased, but it wasn't the black panther Seth had come to know. It was the white one.

_Naptra's back. _Seth tried to reach out to his possessed imprint but he found that all their mental connections to her were lost. Tre continually tried to re-establish contact but nothing worked.

_Guys it's okay I can still hear her. _Seth knew it was Leah but her voice was strained. It sound as if she were struggling really hard with something.

* * *

_Leah? Leah! Are you trying to fight- _Leah tuned her brother out. She knew the instant Tamyra's eyes started glowing that she was losing control of the ancient spirit. The connection of the dimprint was the only thing keeping her connected with the furious panther a few feet from her. Slowly Tamyra's voice was draining. Leah felt herself becoming overwhelmed as well, but she fought to keep both of them conscious. Leah phased. The gasps that followed forced Leah to look down at herself. Her grey fur was slowly turning white.

_So that's what she's doing. That little greedy jerk is trying to control both of us! _That thought was a bad idea on Leah's part because it served to anger Naptra more. Leah tuned into her thoughts to figure out what was the source of her fury.

_I despise you all! You all deserve to die- no no you're wrong! _Leah shook her head at the battling voices she heard. _You think you can control me? Keep me locked away? _The evil voice was bordering on hysterics. Leah added her own voice to the mix to help Tamyra stay afloat.

_No one deserves to die here. _Leah said as Naptra looked around at the surrounding wolves. _Listen to me! We're your allies._

_I have no allies. _And all at once, Leah was flooded with images of an 18th century plantation. She found it strange to watch images of a time as if she were actually there. She saw the meetings in a small dingy building. She saw the reflection of a slave girl. She saw the betrayal happen and the girl getting her hands tied behind her back as she faced her fatal punishment. Lastly she felt the immense fury of the first phase, an experience she never wanted to relive again. Leah was pulled out of the memory and realized through her sympathizing thoughts she had lost ground and her fur was mostly white now.

_You can't do this. We aren't the ones who betrayed you. We weren't even alive. _This argument did not get through to Naptra. She continued pacing, the pack was smart enough to stay far away from her although Leah worried when she saw her brother inching closer. His proximity startled Naptra and she barred her teeth at him and hissed. He stopped but Leah was sure she saw tears brimming in his eyes. _Stop it. He hasn't done anything to you. He's just worried._

_He should be. I'm going to end his miserable-No you're not! _Leah knew she was going to have nightmares for weeks when this was over. She wanted to applaud Tamyra for still trying to fight back but she knew it wouldn't last if she didn't do something soon.

_You can't be angry at him. He's the father of your…twins. _Naptra looked up and Leah could almost feel her fur color start to darken again.

_My twins are dead. _Two incredibly light skinned babies wrapped in dirty cloths flashed in Leah's mind. She altered the image and showed Naptra the image of Sahara and her baby lying side by side.

_They aren't dead. They are waiting at home for you. Just stop trying to destroy everyone and getting revenge for those who did you wrong hundreds of years ago. _Leah's familiar color coated her body but she noticed that Tamyra had yet to regain her black fur. Leah noticed the panthers coming out of hiding to see what was happening. It was incredibly hard for the pack to stay hidden with this eerily glowing white panther in their midst.

_You're right. _Leah snapped her head up as she noticed the double voice that had spoken to her. _But there is someone I have to take care of first. _That time Leah noticed Tamyra's voice getting stronger but Naptra's still held the undertone. Leah was confused. She watched as Tamyra attempted what would be the equivalent of a panther smirking then she was gone. Leah had never seen the girl move so fast. Her figure blurred and she was headed straight into enemy territory. Leah followed before anyone could stop her. A few of the panthers tried to attack the speeding girls but they were easily knocked out of the way. The white panther stopped suddenly and Leah saw who Tamyra was staring down. _Veronica. _

"Naptra. I'm glad you decided to show yourself. You know I was beginning to think you had turned into a coward. That you were too afraid of getting killed… again." Veronica had the audacity to laugh. Leah raised her eyebrows although in wolf form it just made her look like she was scared. "You should have never turned against me. If you played your part, you could still be in our pack. Following my orders. You should have learned that you never go against the head-" Veronica's words were cut off. Tamyra had already pounced and pinned the woman beneath her. Leah almost felt sorry for the woman, she had managed to piss off two women simultaneously. Leah didn't intervene. The woman struggled but Tamyra permanently restrained her by lifting up and slamming all of her body weight into the woman. The paws holding her, had crushed her wrists. She didn't even scream as she slipped away. _That was kind of anticlimactic don't you think. _Tamyra and Naptra ignored Leah's thoughts. Tamyra was too busy studying the figure that lay on the ground in front of her. She zoned in on the blood oozing from the woman's wrists and Tamyra had a flash back of her own.

_Bloody Ceremony…Clarice. _Tamyra ran. She started hunting down the beta. Leah could tell that Tamyra was not stable. She was tracking down the other girl like a mad woman and Leah knew she had to stop her.

_Myra you can't! Clarice has to stay alive! You'll endanger the mission. _The words fell on deaf ears. Leah noticed that the battle had resumed in the clearing. She could hear the howls and growls of her pack mates but she knew that she had to keep Tamyra from singlehandedly destroying the mission.

* * *

_I've got a spot on the alpha male. _Embry called to Jacob. The task force was tied up. Embry and Jacob were the only ones who could get free to get to the alpha before he retreated farther into the forest.

_We need to end this now. Embry you with me? _Seth watched as the two brothers ran full speed ignoring side attacks and headed toward the panther alpha. Seth had moved to help Solomon since his group had effectively disbanded. His mental connection to the wolves faltered. He assumed Leah had switched to human form, the connection was quickly reconnected but it was strained. Tre informed him that he managed to make an alpha link with Jacob.

_I'm at the Cullens. _It was Brady. Seth managed to tune in and watch through Brady's mind as he approached the mansion. Edward and Emmett emerged first to grab Collin off of Brady's back. It was then that Seth noticed how shook up Brady was. The kid couldn't even calm himself down enough to phase back to human. Brady managed to follow them into the house, no one ridiculing him for maintaining his large form. Carlisle was present immediately.

"_Could you show me what happened?" _Edward asked Brady. Seth watched as Brady replayed what happened to Collin form his point of view.

_Seth watch out! _Seth tuned back into the battle as Solomon yelled at him. A panther had just tried to ram into him but Seth was fast and tripped him. Solomon pounced on the panther. Edward was replaying what he'd just picked up form Brady's mind. Carlisle busied himself checking Collin's vitals. The arrow was finally dislodged. Seth felt Brady flinch.

"_He's still unresponsive." _Carlisle muttered to himself although everyone heard it. _"Edward hand me that gauze." _Seth intercepted a panther who had its sights set on attacking Solomon while his back was turned.

_Call and Black own! _Paul yelled as he took down a sloppy fighter. Jacob and Embry had just re-emerged each carrying a different limb from the alpha male in their mouths. Seth wanted to cringe but he was too focused on the speedy Gonzales in front of him.

* * *

"Tamyra stop!" Leah doesn't know what possessed her to change back to human form but she needed to do something to stop the blood lust coursing through Tamyra's veins. Tamyra actually stopped and looked Leah curiously, but mostly annoyed.

_She cut me. I'm cutting her. _Tamyra said. Before Leah could respond, the panther was running out of her sight again. Leah followed in human form trying desperately to catch up to the panther. They were running farther and farther into enemy territory, Leah was sure, but she didn't hear any panthers. She figured they were all fighting by then. Leah's wonderings stopped however when a shooting pain went through her legs. She fell as the white panther ran completely out of view. Leah looked back and noticed that her ankles were caught in some type of trap. It was a contraption that had the same principle as a bear trap. The pointed edges were sharp and she had a stinging in her eyes from the pain as blood trickled down to her feet.

"Look what I caught." Leah snapped her head up and locked eyes with none other than Damien. "A beautiful naked woman." Leah wanted to puke. He carried a long spear in his hand as he lazily walked toward her. Leah didn't want to know what he was hiding behind that evil grin. "You know I've been with plenty of women in my day but you are one gorgeous piece. I hope Terrance knows what to do with you." Leah growled. She could hear someone getting closer to them from a distance but the rain was still hindering her sense of smell so she didn't know if they were friend or foe. "Too bad he won't get to have you anymore." _That sounds a little too final._

"Do you really think a little spear will kill me?" Leah taunted. She was in the most vulnerable position ever but she still felt like smart mouthing the enemy. Damien looked down at it.

"Oh of course not. I know all about your healing ability. Your newest wolf alpha made that exceptionally clear the last time we were here. It's what your weakness is that interested me." Alarms went off in Leah's head. Damien crouched to her level since she was lying with her stomach to the ground. "Didn't you wonder why your little puppy didn't heal? I'll tell you. We made a few friends in Italy." Leah's tough expression faltered. "They helped us out. We told them our plans to take you guys down and they said they'd help in any way possible. All I had to mention was Washington and wolves. They told us about your little friends…the Cullens I believe." Leah cringed. The panthers now had information on the vampires. She could only hope none of the enemy had been sent there already. Damien was satisfied with Leah's reaction. He rose to full height. Leah could tell someone was approaching fast but she still didn't know who it was. "They gave us a little somethin somethin." Then it clicked.

"Vampire venom. You coated the arrows in that poison!" Leah sneered. Damien smiled as she struggled but the pain stopped her from moving into a comfortable position.

"Ding ding ding. I guess you dogs are smart. Just a little too slow." With that he raised the spear above his head. Leah held her breath, waiting for the sharp head to pierce her skin but it never came. She opened her eyes as she felt something drip onto her. _Blood. _She looked up and came face to face with Sam. _Oh God… _The spear was sticking through his heart. Leah froze but when his eyes went out of focus, she panicked. She ignored her own pain as Sam slowly fell to the ground. Damien had just let go of the spear handle. "Looks like I did Tre a favor and took out the competition." Leah hissed at him as she moved to catch Sam. "I'll need my weapon back." He went to grab it and Leah growled before he could pull but his body was suddenly flung out of view. She looked up and saw Tre already over him relentlessly throwing punches. Leah turned her eyes back to Sam who was coughing up blood already.

"Oh God, Sam stay with me." He reached for her hand.

"Lee-"

"Shush. I just have to get out of this trap and get you to the Cullens."

"Leah, take the spear out." Sam ordered her. She didn't want to but he seemed to be convinced it needed to be removed. Leah closed her eyes as she pulled. Sam only managed a grunt as the weapon was thrown far away from them. He pulled his hand up to feel the wound but the steady oozing of blood confused him.

"Sam, the point was coated in vampire venom." She explained. He looked horrified but it only lasted a second.

"Collin was-"

"I know, but the Cullens have him and we have to get you there now." Leah felt her voice crack. She tried to maneuver out of the trap again but nothing budged. She noticed that Tre was still fighting with Damien and there was no else around. _Seth!_

* * *

Seth had just knocked another enemy out when he heard his sister's desperate plea. He had no idea where she was but he just took off running. He could hear the Cullen house getting frantic.

"_His heart rate's dropping!" _Edward yelled to Carlisle. Seth could tell that Brady was getting restrained by two of the vampires.

"_Nessie, quick! Grab the baby!" _Seth heard Rosalie yell distantly. He heard a scuffle. Then he saw Leah holding a bleeding Sam in her arms. He had to make it to his sister. That was until he caught the blurring of a white figure ahead of him.

_Seth stop her! She's going to kill Clarice! _Leah told him. She was obviously struggling with telling him to do so.

* * *

Leah knew she was probably condemning Sam by sending Seth away but she'd rather the battle end quickly that way it would be easier to get Sam some help.

"Leah I'm…sorry." Leah didn't understand why he was apologizing but when his hand came up wipe her face she understood. "I was never supposed to make you cry again." His whispered although he probably thought he was talking at normal volume. He was losing strength and his blood wasn't clotting. "It stings." Leah ran a hand through his hair. She spent the time studying him. She wasn't supposed to shed anymore tears over him. She'd sworn to herself. She hadn't cried in who knows how long. And now she was crying over Sam again.

"I'm so angry with you right now." Sam managed to smile at her tantrum. Then his face turned serious again.

"Lee, promise me you'll take care of Leonard." It was those words that alerted Leah to Sam's resignation. He's already lost hope on survival. She looked up and found that Tre was evenly matched still with Damien. That fight was still going on and as long as it did, the battle continued. "Promise me please."

* * *

Seth had almost caught up to his imprint.

"_Aunty Rose she's too fast!" _Seth heard Renesme squeal. She figured they were trying to catch his daughter but the next sentence shocked him. _"Leah's baby is really fast in wolf form!" _Leah's baby had phased and they couldn't catch her.

"_He's gonna flat line!" _Carlisle was working swiftly, Edward by his side. He saw Bella and Esme comforting each other as they watched the wolf on the table slip away. Brady was silent, but his fear and despair was enough to make Seth want to sob.

"_Ness don't let her get into that room!" _Just then a small wolf that looked like a miniature version of Leah broke into Brady's line of sight. She dodged all arms that tried to catch her. She landed on top of Collin's unmoving body and began howling.

* * *

"I promise Sam." Leah said. His face softened. His eyes wandered and Leah could feel him slipping away by the seconds. His blinks took longer and his breathing turned shallow. Leah's vision blurred. She wanted badly to just tell him that she loved him, that she'd marry him, anything to make him stay awake. To come back to her.

"Emi…Leah…" He closed his eyes again but they never opened. Leah opened her mouth to cry out but nothing escaped her lips.

* * *

Seth was almost knocked off of his feet by the amount of sorrow that had just hit him. The wolves started howling but he found that there was one high pitched howl that was holding his attention. His niece was still perched by Collin's ear and she was howling but it was different from the mournful ones coming from his brothers. It was soothing. Seth was sure he'd heard something like it before. It was calm and hypnotizing-_The chant! She's doing the healing chant! _Seth yelled into the heads of all who could hear him. A few watched as the baby wolf continued her song. The image blurred and Seth could only guess that Brady was crying.

* * *

Leah looked down at the body in her arms. A look of peace was crossing his dead features.

"Leah I…" She looked up as someone approached her.

* * *

Seth wanted to cry out in rapture as another mind started to clear. The blackness of Collin's mind was disappearing as he began to pull away from the clutches of death.

"_He's coming to." _Edward announced. Seth couldn't concentrate on any responses because he felt as if the world had just shifted on its axis. The feeling was familiar but he knew it wasn't coming from him. Suddenly Jacob's voice screamed through everyone's mind as he paused his attack on a nearby panther.

_Whoever just imprinted, speak now or forever hold your peace!_

**A/N:** ari is gonna kill me...

oh and kudos to all you who guessed Seth...Sam was interesting, I actually toyed with the idea

* * *


	34. Chapter 33

Seth caught up to Tamyra. Under normal circumstances he would have laughed considering she was in the process of chasing Clarice up a tree. He howled to get her attention. Tamyra looked down, just as Clarice changed back to human.

"Young beta wolf, please pull her back otherwise I can't issue the retreat!" Clarice said hastily. Seth nodded. The other panther was obviously trying to avoid physical confrontation with his still possessed tried to reach up and physically pull her down since he was still mentally detached from her. He swiped at a leg and managed to make her lose her balance. She fell on top of him. She hissed at him but recognition went through her eyes and she calmed.

_Please. Myra. Can you hear me? _Seth waited. Tamyra was looking at him, studying more like. Her eyes still held that faint yellow but he could tell she was tiring. He figured Tamyra was still fighting for control of her own body.

"Perhaps it would be wise if she changed to human." Clarice suggested still perched in the tree. Seth had no way of communicating to her so he thought by changing himself, she would follow by example.

"See, Myra. It's easy. Just relax." He said as if he were talking to a new wolf that couldn't control their phasing. Tamyra huffed but after some concentration was able change back. Seth grabbed her in his arms. She briefly returned the embrace.

"We have to get to Leah." Seth readied himself to phase when he heard the echo of a pained scream.

* * *

Leah thought the worst had happened. She locked eyes with the man in front of her. She felt the bindings of the dimprint completely slip away and for a moment she was in a disorienting state of freedom. The next moment, feelings that flooded her weren't her own. The man standing just a few feet from her stared at her as Leah felt herself overwhelmed with adoration, but just as quickly it slipped away into fear, concern, worry, and guilt. Leah was choking on guilt that wasn't her own. His once elated eyes were now drowning in depression. Then he looked angry. He clenched his fists. Leah tried to push the waves of feelings away, but they went away on their own when he turned away from her, leaving only a dull ache behind. She could tell that he was still feeling the pain. His hands were bloodied with the blood of the man he'd just killed. He walked away and Leah felt herself being tugged to follow him.

"Tre…wait!" He didn't hear her. He raised his clenched hands to the trees he passed and swung his arms in a way that caused his wrists to scrape harshly against the bark. He let out a clenched scream and Leah cringed as the new blood began gushing down his arms. He hadn't let her out of her restraints because he didn't want her to follow. She didn't care what he wanted. She lowered Sam's body to the ground. She had to get out of the trap. That was when she heard her two other pack mates run to her.

"Leah what happened?" Seth asked.

"Seth, get me out of these!" Leah screamed. He fumbled over the contraption before Tamyra just bent down and smashed the restraints herself. Leah got up, wincing from the sting in her legs just as Tamyra spoke.

"Where's my brother?" Leah didn't answer immediately she was already running after the man. She tuned entirely into his thoughts as he ran. He knew she was chasing him now. He didn't attempt to care for his self inflicted wounds. _It's like he's trying to kill himself. _The loss of blood through his wrists was draining his energy. He stumbled as he ran farther into the woods while simultaneously running uphill. Leah realized that he knew exactly where he was going.

"Tre stop running!" She yelled. She knew he could hear her but he chose to ignore. They were nearing a cliff edge but it wasn't like a First Beach cliff. As soon as the top came into Tre's view she knew it had to be a drop that was at least three times as high as the ones they normally dove off of. Leah kicked up the speed. She knew if she didn't stop him, he'd continue running. She knew the magnitude of the guilt that he was carrying. She knew what he did to her 5 months ago and she knew what he'd just done to her 5 minutes ago even if she didn't know _how_ it happened.

He'd just imprinted on her.

And she didn't care.

His feelings, all of them had been magnified the moment they locked eyes and she knew where his train of thought was going simply because they were once her own thoughts. He was trying to kill himself. He was weakened and jumping off that cliff was suicide. _An imprint is never supposed to work like this. _Leah was running harder than she ever had before. She broke through the trees to the top of the cliff just as she watched his feet take off the edge. Leah sucked in a breath as she reached out and threw herself off after him. Her eyes stung but she forced them open to watch the plummet. She was wrong. The cliff was more like a mountain. It was high and the waters below did not look welcoming. The tide was still crashing from the recent storm. She reached out to the body falling under her. He felt the contact and turned his head up to look at her. Their eyes locked again and just as quickly Leah found herself being pulled into a strong cage of warmth. His arms enveloped her trying to shield her head from the impact with water and stone. His other arms wrapped around to keep as many vital organs out of harm's way. _This idiot is trying to protect me while he commits suicide. _The splash must've been too loud because Leah never heard it. She felt herself being sucked under by the strong currents but just as quickly she was being pulled back to the surface. She was still locked in Tre's arms but his grip had loosened significantly. That's when she noticed he was barely conscious.

"Leah!" Leah looked up when she heard her brother's voice echo from somewhere above them. She could barely make out the small dots at the top of the cliff. A few more figures joined them so she figured the battle was over. "Are you okay?" Leah tried to call back but she found her voice was weak. The temperature of the water was so cold that even her incredible body heat couldn't ward it off. She heard Tre groan. He was still alive but she didn't know for how long. She searched for the coast but found that none of the land was at sea level.

"Leah! Swim about a mile that way!" She heard Jacob yell. She wanted to shoot back that she couldn't see which way he was pointing but when the group started moving she followed their direction. She held onto Tre's waist as she swam. Soon she found the spot Jacob had directed her to. The ground wasn't as high. The climb was only a few dozen feet. When she arrived a few guys were already making their way down to pull her up. Two guys that she couldn't recognize pulled Tre's dead weight out of her arms. She figured they were panthers. Seth and Jacob both pulled her up, opting to carry her to the top. When she was released she made her way to Tre. Tamyra was doing CPR on him but he wasn't responding. Leah pushed her away. Her thrusts on his sternum were rougher. When she blew air into his mouth he coughed. As soon as his eyes opened, she slapped him.

"You complete buffoon! How dare you imprint on me and try to kill yourself!" There were a series of gasps and other sounds of surprise. Tre looked at her and she felt the familiar swirl of his emotions invade again.

"I'm sorry,"His voice was raspy after having swallowed too much sea water." I never meant to-"

"Stop apologizing! Why did you try to kill yourself?" She yelled at him again.

"You hate me," was all he said. The memory of_ that_ night flashed in her mind. Those had been her words and she had meant them then. Now she wasn't so sure. "I thought it best to end it before-"

"Did you even think what would happen to me? I felt it when you imprinted! It affects me too!" Leah was upset and angry. She was still yelling at him.

"You jumped and I couldn't let you get hurt. Why did you follow me?" Leah couldn't answer. She knew she'd felt a pull to follow him. If that had been her own instinct or some mystical pull she couldn't tell.

"I don't know…"

* * *

Seth watched the exchange between his sister and Tre. He knew that something was off about Tre's imprint. It wasn't as intense as the other guy's had been. He didn't feel just adoration and love for his imprint. He felt the same he evidently always had, it just seemed magnified. Adoration topped it but he could still feel anger towards Leah. He could find faults. His bindings that tied him to her appeared as if they were always there. _As if he'd been imprinted to her all along… _Seth gasped at his own thought.

"He stole the ability to imprint from me." Seth said quickly, drawing most eyes toward him. "When I joined we all felt a shift. That had to be when he did that weird mind absorption thing. When he looked at Leah again it caused him to imprint but I think the bond had always been there, we just didn't know because-"

"Because panthers don't imprint." Tamyra finished for him sadly. "That explains his sudden attraction to her." Tamyra fell into deep thought. Seth realized she was focusing on their siblings' interactions when Tre had first arrived. Seth held in his excitement at discovering that his mental connection with his imprint had been re-instated.

"But when he became alpha he couldn't control those feelings and those of an imprint that hadn't manifested. He didn't have the constraints of an imprint that forces him to be unable to hurt her." Seth finished. Everyone's eyes settled on the two in question at the news. Seth watched as Leah looked down at Tre sadly. He wasn't sure how she'd take to the events in the coming days but he knew she'd need as much support as possible.

_Dad was right. _Seth looked curiously at Leah as she spoke to him mentally. _You are a genius. _Seth looked smug, quite proud of himself for earning such a compliment from his older sister.

"C'mon, we should probably head back to the house."

* * *

The trip back to Forks blurred in Leah's mind. She was faintly aware of Sam's body being carried away and of Tre struggling between walking near her and staying away. He finally gave in and she could feel him walking behind her. She didn't fight him on it. She figured she was still in a state of shock. When they reached the house, Brady was the first one out, Sahara was in his arms. Leah pushed passed everyone. Her only thought was on holding her own child. She frowned when Rosalie met her at the door, an angry look on her face. Leah found the vampires all huddled, with anxious expressions.

"What's going on?" Leah asked, no one answered. "Where's my baby?" She asked this time the vampires parted like the red sea, revealing a baby wolf. Leah looked at her miniature self, admiring the baby. The wolf was calm, happy actually as she showed more emotion than she'd shown in her two months of life. But it didn't click until Leah realized that her baby was being cuddled in the arms of a bandaged Collin.

"Leah, I can explain…"

* * *

Seth heard the little girl squeals before he entered the house. Leah took no pity on the wounded teen. It took Emmett, Edward, and Jacob to restrain her, along with a major dosage of calm from Jasper before Leah relented. Seth would've commented on the irony that at the same moment in time, mother and daughter had been imprinted upon but he did not want to face the wrath of his sister. Esme was now holding Leah's baby. Rosalie had made no move to help restrain Leah muttering about how he deserved it. A few of the shape shifters outside had to keep Tre from running in to help free Leah.

"I'm sorry. I-she saved me and when I came to I looked at her and-and…" Collin stopped his explanation when Leah growled at him again.

"Perhaps Leah would like some air." Carlisle suggested, worried that Leah was going to send the revived Collin back to the grave. Leah was panting when the guys half carried her outside. The panthers that had followed the group of wolves made an effort to stay away from her. It was at that moment that Seth realized mostly everyone was butt naked. Edward caught his thought and dozens of piles of clothes were brought down by Alice.

"Here are some clothes for all of you." Alice set all the clothes down in one fluid motion although the pile was taller than she was. "Sorry if they smell bad." The wolves all turned their nose up for fun but the panthers looked at her questioningly.

"Are the clothes dirty or something?" Seth heard one of the panthers ask. When he turned he realized that it was the male panther that had come with Clarice three months ago. _Jay, I think his name is. _Alice gave the man a look of disbelief.

"No, they've only been worn once, it's just that the wolves complain about our sme…wait do we not smell bad to you?" She asked curiously. Jay turned to face some of his comrades before confidently walking up to Alice. He bent down to sniff her neck and smiled.

"You smell quite nice actually." He said. Seth heard a hiss then Jasper was instantly by Alice's side, holding her possessively. Jay, despite his incredible disadvantage against the vampire, did not look intimidated. "So do you." He said addressing Jasper. A few of the panthers started laughing at their friend's antics. Alice found it humorous as well. Jasper was not amused. The shape shifters converged on the pile of clothes as Clarice came forward to give her thanks on behalf of her pack. Seth noticed that Tamyra was working on calming Leah down to get her into some clothes. Seth didn't see the point considering she would probably get worked up again and shred them. That was until he heard his imprint say that some of the guy panthers were showing too much interest in her. Before long, both Seth and Tre were blocking Leah from the view of all males in the vicinity.

* * *

Leah had finally calmed down. Although she'd already ripped out of three outfits, this was only her second dress she'd been forced into. Everyone was hesitant to give her child back to her but Tamyra was insistent that it would help Leah calm down. She was right. Of course it had proven more difficult to separate Collin and Leah jr than it was to separate Brady and Sahara. Leah figured Collin was scared she would grab the baby run to Canada and never let him see his imprint again. She had to admit the idea was tempting. She looked down at the baby in her arms. The girl hadn't phased into a wolf again since she had supposedly pulled Collin from the brink of death.

"Leah, how are you feeling?" Leah looked up at Tre. They were all scattered on the Cullen property eating food that Esme had just prepared. It was strange to be laughing and joking with the same people that had just tried to kill her but she could tell most of her enemies weren't fighting to their full potential. Most were holding back and she wanted to know why. "Leah?" He brought her from her mental wanderings.

"I'm…fine." He slipped his hands into his jean pockets. Unlike the other panthers he decided to go shirtless like the wolf pack. She tried to maintain focus on his face.

"Which means you're not doing so hot." He concluded. Leah didn't respond. He took this as invitation to sit next to her. He smiled at the baby. "May I?" He gestured towards the child. She thought it funny that he still asked her permission even though he's been the impromptu baby sitter ever since the child was born. She didn't answer just simply handed him the child. She thought she heard Collin screech how unfair something was in the distance.

"I'm worried about those guys." Leah said and motioned toward where Embry, Jared, and Paul were seated together. They all looked somber but would put on fake smiles when someone would come to address them. Tre followed her line of sight. "They looked up to him even when everyone else thought he was already dead."

"What about you?" He asked softly. The memory of Sam's peaceful face brought tears to her eyes but she refused to let them spill over.

"What _about _me?" Tre didn't reply immediately. He took to playing with the baby's small hands. She liked the gesture and reached up to attempt to touch his face. He bent down to let her and she smiled. He turned his eyes back to Leah.

"You're hurting and you're trying to hold it in." Leah sniffed. She figured he didn't know what he was doing to her by talking to her in such a manner. She wouldn't lose herself in front of all these people.

"Can we take a walk?" Leah asked suddenly. She thought she saw a flash of excitement in his eyes but she didn't dwell on it. She was already on her feet and heading into the woods without waiting for his reply. She heard his steps following her. She ignored the looks they were receiving as Tre caught up to her, still playing with the baby in his arms. She thought she saw Seth start to question her but Tamyra held him back. They walked for a while, Leah, let her feet lead her. She wasn't surprised when she made it to her "fortress" in the woods.

"This place is special to you." He didn't pose it as a question, just stating it as a fact. Leah lay down on the forest floor, her eyes focused on the criss-cross branches above her. The only sounds in her ears were the drips of water from the left over rain and the gurgling sounds coming from her baby.

"You're probably the only person that hasn't changed after imprinting." She wanted to laugh from the whoosh sound that came from him snapping his head up so fast. "The other guys, turn into these little puddles of mush that can't stay from the girl's sight for any extended period of time." Leah reached up to catch a falling leaf. "But you…you act the same you always have." Leah sat up to face him. "Why?"

"I've always been devoted to you. I don't know why, but ever since my sister first let me hear you in her thoughts before she knew who you were, I found you intriguing." Leah scoffed at his word choice. "When I got here I was absolutely stunned by your beauty. I guess I was just conflicted." He looked down.

"That's one way of putting it." Leah returned to her previous position. She held her hands up to inspect her fingernails. They would look perfectly manicured were it not for the dirt caked underneath. "This is so backwards." She said. His silence indicated to Leah that he was confused. "I mean we meet, have a chance of being friends maybe, then all of sudden you lose it, resulting in our having a baby, and now the universe has decided we would be perfect for each other." She was still inspecting her nails. Then she suddenly stopped. "This is all Seth's fault!" Tre choked at Leah's conclusion. The baby laughed at his reaction.

"How so?"

"If he hadn't joined our pack everything would have been normal." Leah didn't even have to look at him to know a grin crossed his face when she said 'our pack'.

"I don't think normal is the word you're looking for. Nothing about this is normal."

"What is this," Leah motioned between the two of them, "-exactly?" Tre shrugged.

"Whatever you want it to be." This caused Leah to sit back up to face him again. She knew he was in effect giving the reigns of their new "situation" over to her. "When I first came here you described imprinting to me. I saw it in your brothers' faces. I saw it reciprocated in their imprints' eyes. It's my understanding that the guys were virtual strangers with their imprints when they first met. They had no prior feelings and the natural tendency of the imprint is to reveal the imprint as the imprinter's world, their sun, whatever metaphor floats your boat." He paused to watch Leah's reaction as he continued to regurgitate information told to him on the subject. "The natural pull is love and adoration because they have not been exposed to the imprints flaws or imperfections. So this intense gush of emotion is just pure love. It is my understanding that although the amount of love the guys feel for their imprint never dwindles, the times following in which they look into the eyes of their other halves, it is never as explosive as the first meeting. We are different. I didn't have the force of the imprint at first. I was able to interact with you as humans interact with each other. Able to… love without the blinding devotion."

"So it's possible that humans meet their quote unquote imprint but have the inability to recognize it." The conversation was still slightly confusing but cleared up some of Leah's understanding. "Imprinting without the constraints." Leah paused, wanting to dwell on the positive and negative side of the concept. _Is that why he stayed? He had imprinted but it wasn't strong enough to stop him from hurting me like he did yet too strong for him to completely abandon me. Or was that just his character?_ "You never answered my question." Tre blinked rapidly trying to remember what her question was. "Why did you run?"

"Everything I've ever felt toward you came back to the surface. I'll never forgive myself for what I did to you and when all that guilt came back tenfold I couldn't handle it." His voice had an unnatural twinge to it as he spoke.

"You're lying." Leah snapped. He sighed heavily and hesitated before replying to her accusation.

"I saw how broken you were when you were holding Sam. I thought you loved him and I didn't think I'd be enough. And you didn't imprint back so…"He trailed off reliving the impulse to off himself in fear of rejection. It was Leah's turn to sigh.

"I can't imprint. I can only dimprint. And I probably can't even do that anymore since the moment you imprinted on me, the dimprint… broke." This news shocked Tre since he walked to stand over Leah, his face one of concern.

"Is that-what did I- is she-are you angry?" His stuttering forced a laugh out of Leah. She found the sensation strange given the circumstances.

"I guess not. I'm beginning to think it ran its course when I used it to stop Tamyra from going homicidal on all of us." That brought a half smile to Tre's face.

"I have to admit I was getting kind of scared there." Leah raised an eyebrow.

"Were you worried your sister was going to kill us all?" Leah teased.

"I was worried you were going to kill my sister." He was serious and that surprised Leah. Her expression tipped him off that he should elaborate. "When we first saw the manifestation of Naptra in my sister, I freaked. I'd heard the stories of how the hosts would eventually get consumed by her power and die. Then I saw how she manipulating the both of you through the dimprint and I knew that was the only reason my sister was still alive. She had the two of you to spread her power across. I admit, I never dreamed you would be able to fight back, to be able to ward off that spirit. Leah you're incredible. You probably have hidden strength that most of us could only dream of." Tre exhaled heavily as he stared at her in awe. Leah held his gaze before looking around at her surroundings. She didn't want to look at him again mainly because she knew his praises were genuine. The development of this imprint really threw her for a loop. She couldn't question his feelings toward her because they were his own. They were developed by him and were just now being magnified. She knew what the others would tell her, that she should be grateful that he could never hurt her again. He'd always be there to protect her. He'd probably be the perfect dad and would listen to her every command because he'd always feel guilty for what he's done even more because he'd regret not having the imprint from the get-go.

"I loved Sam," Leah could feel his eyes on her. He was no doubt questioning why she suddenly brought this up but he didn't voice it. "-once upon a time and I guess when he was in my arms as strongly as I believed that he wasn't the same Sam I fell in love with, he was the only Sam I had left and it was too hard to-to-" her voice broke as her slowly spoken words turned into sobs. She barely registered when he'd taken two strides to reach her. He lowered to her level and wrapped an arm around her, holding the baby in the other. She cried out into his shoulder as he made soothing circles on her back. "I loved him and I loved my dad and they both died and now the stupid wolf thing wants me to love you too-"

"Shh, you don't have to love me," He assured her soothingly, whispering the words into her ear. Leah found the statement strange but she was too far gone to question him. "Just let me carry some of the burden. Let me be there for you. I don't want to hurt you again. I don't want anyone else to either." She clenched her fists as she continually sobbed.

* * *

A/N: by far the hardest chap to write...I dont even know why. The battle chapter was easier than this. And if I dont review reply for a little bit its because I'll probably add a whole bunch of responses to the end in a final A/N so yeah the story is coming to a close. (this was gonna be the last chap but I couldn't leave leah crying on a dudes shoulder...that's not Leah like!) so only like a chap or two to go


	35. Chapter 34

"She's crying." Seth said low enough that only Tamyra could hear him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know." She started to rub it.

"She hasn't cried in…" Seth tried to remember the last time. He couldn't even recall her crying at their father's funeral. She was like a statue. She'd sat there holding his hand while his mother held his other one. Their mother had cried and sobbed. He had even shed tears but Leah, Leah had a face of stone. It was as if every emotion anyone could feel was being bottled up inside. Her only reaction he could recall was when they had closed the casket for the last time. Leah had tightened her grip on his hand with an incredible amount of strength. He would have written it off as shape shifter strength. Now he thought it was more of a release of all the pain she was feeling at the time. It was strange being able to feel her emotions in his head now. He felt his own pain from losing Sam, from losing a brother but it was nothing compared to the conflicted thoughts and emotions of his older sister. "Is this how it's going to be from now on?"

"You can go back if you want." She replied already knowing that he was referring to the shared pack mind between them. He tossed around the idea of rejoining Jacob's pack but for some reason it didn't set right. It had been good for a season but now it seemed like he was ready to move on.

"I think I'll stay." Seth didn't miss the smile that graced Tamyra's face. "How'd you do it by the way?" She looked at him curiously. "How'd you take back control of your body?"

"Leah did most of the work. Naptra was already waning by the time I killed Veronica. I was still a little deluded by her sentiments but when she-_we_ saw you, man that sounds weird, anyway we saw how devoted you were to me and she felt how I was to you and she relented. I guess she was content with finding some good in the world." Seth smiled but then he thought of something.

"Is that really all that happened?"Seth eyed her suspiciously. Tamyra sniffed.

"_Okay_ so she may have had a lover with your same eyes." He chuckled as she grinned. The fact that the two could achieve such acts surprised Seth. He figured his sister must finally be calming down since her grief wasn't bearing down on him anymore.

"So what do we do now?" Seth asked. Tamyra shrugged.

"I guess we get jobs. We have a family of three now and I don't think your mother will appreciate us staying in her house much longer." She explained.

"Speaking of…I've been meaning to ask you about your family business…" Tamyra's jaw dropped in shock.

"About that…"

* * *

Leah wasn't sure how long they had spent in that position. She'd fallen asleep on her knees with most of her body weight being supported by Tre. His position wasn't much better, being in a half crouch half kneel. The baby had fallen asleep as well. She noticed how damp his shoulder and arm was, covered in various fluids that come from her mouth, eyes, and nose, and she immediately felt embarrassed for having cried so much. Though she couldn't regret it since her body seemed cleansed somehow by the action. _I'll just make sure not to do that again for another few years at least. _He grunted as she pulled away, his bones creaking as he released her.

"You're practically an old man." She joked, her voice a little groggy. He laughed, more pleased at the fact that she was already retuning to her normal self. She stood up brushing mud off her knees and fixing her dress. He followed suit, moving the baby into a more comfortable sleeping position. When she started to wake, startled by the movement, he popped the pacifier into her mouth, she suckled for a few seconds and drifted back to sleep. Leah smiled. "I have a name for her." Tre's head popped up, he was genuinely curious.

"What is it?" Leah shook her head.

"I'll tell you when we get back." She began walking back in the direction of the Cullen house and he dutifully followed. When they arrived Leah was surprised to find the panthers still around. Now talking and mingling with the wolves. Leah noticed Clarice was standing in a group with Jacob, Embry, Carlisle, and Edward. Clarice was the first to acknowledge the trio's descent from the forest.

"It's nice to finally greet you on friendly terms." The new alpha panther said as she extended her hand to Leah. Leah shook it.

"Likewise." Leah looked around the circle. She caught Embry's face and although he looked better than before, she could tell he was trying to hold himself together. Jacob was only slightly better. "Though I can't say these are the happiest terms." Clarice quickly caught on to what Leah was saying.

"Of course. We'll be departing shortly. I was just discussing with your comrades the benefits of our making an alliance."

"An alliance?" Tre questioned from behind Leah.

"Yes, we'll be carrying on as we always have, learning about and helping to preserve the various shape shifting races. Now that we have contacts with vampires we can include them and hopefully reach an understanding. Our allegiance to the coven in Italy however will be discarded. We were working out a plan to make this area a location for one of our havens." Clarice looked at Leah and Tre expectantly. "Of course that would mean we would need a type of ambassador." She glanced at Tre. He gave her a look that signaled it was her call.

"What do you mean by haven exactly?"

"We have various allied locations across the country. They're places for lodging and a safety net. In our journeys we come across all types of people. We have places to send shape shifting children to be educated and we come across tons of displaced nomads. Some are young people that have been disowned or orphaned from their abilities. We take them in and care for them so that they know there is a place where they belong."

"That all sounds very noble, but who exactly funds this?" Leah asked.

"Lee!" Jacob tried to scold her. She shrugged her shoulders believing it to be a valid question.

"We have various amounts of money coming from many different patrons, most being from within our shape shifting ranks. The Foster siblings carry a large amount of weight in that department. Each haven is supplied with monetary needs." Leah shot Tre a look, he tried to appear innocent.

"So you want someone to head up that operation here?" Leah asked. Clarice nodded. She was surprised when someone volunteered.

"I could do it." Embry drew all eyes to him. "I mean I would have to discuss it with the Elders but I'm sure they'd be all for helping out, we're pretty inconspicuous too so if any people show up no outsiders would really be suspect."

"It also helps that one of the Elders will be married to the Chief of Police soon." Jacob added. The circle laughed. Leah glanced at Jacob but couldn't help the question from coming out of her mouth.

"Why won't you do it Jake?" If Embry was offended he didn't show it. Jacob looked uneasy.

"It makes sense for him to since he's going to be Tribal Chief after dad." Leah's eyes widened. She never did hear exactly what happened between Jacob, Billy, and Embry. This news meant that some resolution had been reached.

"But why wouldn't you…" Leah looked over at the two vampires standing in the circle. "…Oh." A silence fell over the group as realization settled in Leah's mind. Clarice took it to mean all issues had been resolved.

"So everything's all set?" She looked around at each person expectantly. They nodded but Tre spoke up again.

"Have you been able to get the policing group started?" Clarice frowned.

"No. Orson tried at one point but everyone that showed interest was too corrupt or power hungry. And even when we found some good guys, they all couldn't work cohesively." Leah shook her head in confusion. Tre decided to explain.

"A few of the allies had expressed interest in the pack having a group of shapshifters that could travel with a task similar to Clarice's pack but would be more focused on uncovering the clans that have been causing trouble by use of their shape shifting powers. It was never feasible with the panther pack as large as it is." Clarice decided to cut in.

"We were hoping to form a smaller pack to take over in that department but we have not succeeded in doing so just yet. With the old leaders gone, perhaps we will have more volunteers." She ended hopefully. Leah felt a burst of excitement come from Tre but his expression gave away no hint of it. Clarice clasped her hands in front of her. "I suppose it would be best if we retired for the night." At her exclamation, there were several groans from her pack. They were apparently enjoying the time talking with the wolves as opposed to fighting them. Clarice shook hands with everyone in the circle before excusing herself. Leah saw as she ran to Tamyra and gave her a hug. Leah wanted to laugh at Tamyra's shocked face but the girl returned the gesture anyway. When the panthers were gone, the wolves all simultaneously relaxed in various positions.

"So it doesn't look like any of the pups imprinted on the girl cats." Paul said as he stared up at the night sky. Jared agreed with him. The group in front of her started to disperse when Leah remembered something.

"Doc, I need to talk to you." Carlisle turned back to Leah. Edward was already grinning like he knew a big secret. "About the birth certificate. I have a name for my baby." This news silenced everyone. Leah thought she heard one of the vampires drop something inside the house from surprise. _They're so dramatic. _

"What is her name?" Carlisle asked. Leah took a breath. She turned to look at Tre although she was answering Carlisle.

"Emileah Rose Clearwater-Foster." Leah was sincerely worried Tre was going to pull a face muscle with how wide his smile grew. She was about to return the smile when a booming laugh cut her off.

"I cannot believe She-Wolf just took a page out of Bella's book!" Emmett was promptly knocked upside the head by several of his female relatives.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay I got some pretty bangin reviews for that last chapter and I just wanna say I am upset that they aren't visible at the moment but when they show up I'm gonna read them over and over. Okay This is the last chapter before the Epilogue. I know I know, you want me to keep going and I sat there and thought, this story is already longer than I initially intended but I feel like with mostly everything resolved, it'd just be another however many chapters of...whaddya call it "fluff"? Ummm but I'm thinkin of adding extra scenes(so be thinking of what you wanna see that was missing) at the end so we'll see how that goes. Also keep an open mind about the Epi because this will be in effect my first real ending because the other two books were cliffy endings, and this is like a real ending ENDING and I dont know how I'll do with that. *bites fingernails*

Oh and I have to acknowledge **AZIdolFan **for practically guessing the baby's name like two chapters in advance!I was gonna change Emileah to Emilia...but if you say Emileah really fast it sounds like Emilia anyways...yeah?yeah?...no? oh well another kid with a name that's a mouthful I was like woah I hope I didn't make it that obvious that's where I was going with that.


	36. Epilogue

**One Year Later**

Leah grabbed the two diaper bags from the kitchen and began filling them with bottles, baby food, and diapers. She heard someone in the shower and considering Seth was still out on patrol with Tamyra, Tre and her mother were at their respective jobs, she could only assume the person currently cleansing themselves was her new step father. _Chief_ _Step-pops as Seth likes to call him. _The newlyweds took to spending the night at each other's house. Leah knew her mother would probably end up selling the house and moving in with Charlie. Or she'd give it up to the pack to use. The house had become a little crowded so Leah took days to spend at Sam's. It had started mainly as a way to keep Leonard in a familiar place. With that thought in mind it became exceptionally easier to accept the fact that the house belonged to her dead cousin and ex boyfriend. With the haven operation having started up, the house was also put to good use for incoming shape shifters who needed lodging. Tamyra had fallen in love with playing the role of hostess to the stragglers. Leah turned when the back door opened and in walked said female.

"Hey Leah," Tamyra observed what Leah was doing and opened a cupboard to pull out more baby food. "You know Leo might be going through a growth spurt, he's been eating a lot lately." Leah agreed and stuffed the extra food into one of the bags. "We got another newcomer today." She leaned against the counter.

"Oh really?" Leah asked as she pulled out an unopened packet of pacifiers from a drawer. "What's their status?"

"A girl. She found out she was adopted. Got angry and phased in front of her parents." Tamyra explained.

"Runaway or disowned?" Leah asked without looking at Tamyra.

"Not sure yet. She's not opening up much. Although Solomon has taken a liking to her already-"

"Imprint?" Leah asked quickly.

"Don't think so. He said he finds her _socially intriguing_," _That kid's such a nerd."_ I think he just finds her cute." Tamyra giggled at the end of her statement. Leah rolled her eyes realizing the girl was in one of _those _moods. _She acts so much more like a girl now, it's sickening. _

"What's her shift?" Leah inquired as she zipped up the bags.

"Eagle."

"How patriotic." Leah said unenthusiastically. Tamyra agreed. The two sat in silence for a few moments. Leah glanced at the other girl who was off in her own world and without even listening to her thoughts could tell that she was probably thinking about Seth. "Are there enough supplies at the house for her?" This snapped the other woman out of her thoughts.

"Yeah but I think we need to stock up on toiletries. We're low from when the beaver triplets stayed." Leah laughed remembering the three teenage boys that had spent 3 months in LaPush under the care of the tribe. They had been incredibly short, only about 4'7" each but their big personalities more than made up for their stature. They got it in their heads at some point that Leah would date one of them if they were taller so they had decided to team up to woo her. Often times they would try to stand on different platforms or even each other to be able to look her in the eye when they spoke. When the panther pack had come across a beaver tribe they sent back for the three with the offering of a new clan to belong to permanently. They'd accepted only after Leah promised to look them up every once in awhile.

"I'll call Tre and have him get some things on his way back from work." Leah concluded. Tamyra hesitated.

"Actually, maybe one of us should go since the girl will need to get some feminine products as well." Why Tamyra was speaking in code when it was just the two of them within earshot, Leah had no idea. Then she got an ingenious plan.

"Don't worry, I'll still get your pansy brother to go to the store and get that stuff too." Tamyra tried not to laugh while Leah grinned.

"You're so evil." Tamyra said as she pushed away from the counter and headed for the door. "I'm off, need to check on our new guest, get in touch with Embry and relieve Seth from patrolling. See you tonight." She waved over her shoulder as she exited. Leah just grunted an affirmation. She'd spent all morning getting ready for the evenings activities. With the final task being to just get the baby stuff together then making the phone call to Tre, she would have a few hours to herself. Charlie had finished his shower and was making his way down the steps when Leah dialed Tre at work.

"Forks Police Department." The deep voice said on the other line almost causing a shiver to go down Leah's spine. She scoffed into the phone.

"I bet the Chief wouldn't be so appreciative of you answering his phones with so little enthusiasm." At this statement Charlie's head popped up from fastening his badge on his uniform. He peered over at Leah holding the phone.

"You tell that assistant of mine he better be chipper when I come in for work in 30 minutes." Leah laughed at Charlie's threat and Tre's comeback.

"Oh no, I'm shivering in my boots." Tre said sarcastically.

"Hey Chief, he says he's-"

"No Leah don't-"

"-shivering in his boots. And he wants you to bring it _old_ man." Leah loved getting the guy in trouble. Charlie feigned anger.

"That's it! He's working a double shift tomorrow." Charlie even threw in the infamous finger wag. Tre heard him and huffed in agitation. Charlie flashed his step daughter a smile unseen by the grumbling alpha on the phone. He grabbed a waffle from the toaster and poured himself a glass of milk. "I'm off to work Leah. If you see your mother, tell her don't forget about tonight." He left and Leah cringed at his request.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Leah almost forgot Tre was still on the phone listening.

"I don't even want to think about it." She moved to the refrigerator. "Enough chit-chat. I called because we need supplies." Leah listed off the toiletries and food products needed at the haven house and at the Clearwater house. "And you'll need to buy pads. And tampons. Lots and lots of-" Her statement was cut off by more of Tre's grumbling.

"Leah why do I have to get-"

"Because I said so." She stated cutting him off. "And because I have stuff to do for tonight." She lied, knowing she was finished with her preparation. He didn't respond, just sighed.

"Anything for my _Lassie_." Leah sucked her teeth loudly at the teasing pet name he'd developed for her. "Is that all I need to get?"

"Yeah, _kitten_, that's all." Tre didn't respond immediately. "What?"

"Leah Leah Leah," he said in a disappointed tone. Leah could almost imagine his head shaking in disapproval. "We really need to work on your come backs. I mean Paul gets better insults than I do."

"Well if you'd try being more of an ignorant doofus maybe you'd get me angry enough to warrant a worthy tongue lashing." Leah suggested. "Besides, Seth is the creative one. Have him insult you." Leah heard the other chuckle.

"Ah Seth…" Leah swore she could hear his pride swelling "that boy is a genius you know." Leah rolled her eyes so hard it almost gave her a headache.

"I know."She barked. She knew ever since she'd admitted that to Seth, he and every other person in the pack wouldn't let her live it down. "God, don't you have work to do? Charlie already left."

"Crap!" Leah laughed when she heard the panic in Tre's voice. "I'll get the stuff. See ya later babe-"

"Don't call me babe." She said quickly.

"Sorry, right, it slipped." Leah forgave him quickly for the slip and they hung up. He'd started calling her that once she warmed up to his almost constant presence. At first she thought it was his way of being smooth but Tamyra explained that it was a term of endearment he had used for years with any female friends or loved ones that were his age or younger. Leah understood but was still skeptical of his use of it with her. _Nothing to get too worked up over…I hope. _Leah went to lounge on the couch in her living room. It wasn't often that she got the house to herself or anytime for that matter. Brady and Collin were on a play date with the babies and Leonard was with Kim. She contemplated being productive but instead she just reflected on her life for the past few years. She thought about the time she'd spoke with Jacob and how he'd become a staunch believer in everything happening for a reason no matter how small. She found that she was starting to understand his views. She sighed. _It's been a rough slope but everything finally seems to be looking up. _With that thought she promptly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The blaze burned, lighting against the midnight sky. After Sam's death, there had been a large bonfire held. Most of LaPush turned out for the memorial even those not in on the secret. But tonight there was only a small group gathered in remembrance. Paul, Jared and their respective wives had already gone home for the night. Tenia left soon after them saying she had a tough exam in the morning. Jacob sat next to his friend and brother Embry as they laughed remembering times from high school. The strain between the packs had ceased once Jacob and Embry came to terms with their future duties. Across from them sat the newly engaged couple Seth and Tamyra who were currently playing with 14 month old Sahara as she sat on Tamyra's lap. Laughter filled the air as Tre began bouncing the toddler Leonard on his knee, while Leah attempted to tickle a wailing Emileah.

"Lee, stop scaring the kids." Jacob joked. Everyone laughed as Collin popped up from his seat next to Brady and Quil. He shyly held out his hands to request the child in Leah's arms. After a few moments of scowling she consented but it turned to a smile when Collin effectively soothed his baby imprint.

"I'd make a pedo joke right now but it'd just make me angrier." Leah joked causing another wave of laughter. Suddenly Jacob rose to his feet and cleared his throat.

"I have news. The Cullens have decided that it's time to move on from Forks and they've asked me to accompany them." Jacob needlessly paused for dramatic effect.

"And?" Embry asked urging him to continue.

"I've agreed to move with them in order to stay near Nessie." Jacob finished. He started to sit just as Quil spoke up.

"Well I guess that means the vamp-cat pack is gonna be minus one alpha."

"Actually Quil, the cat side of the vamp-cat pack is gonna be moving on as well." Seth corrected. Quil stared at him. Leah decided to elaborate.

"Yeah Quil, I'm going to completely accept my role as alpha female," Leah didn't realize how her hand went to lightly touch Tre's shoulder in acknowledgement. "-and our group is going to do some traveling and research involving the other shape shifting packs. We're going to help form the policing force with the panther pack." Quil's stare turned to Leah. Her hand had left its position and her interest in Quil's reaction caused her to miss the adoring gaze on her profile.

"You mean I won't be able to hear whiny Seth in my thoughts anymore?" Quil complained. Seth let out an indignant 'Hey!' at his friend's comment. "You Clearwaters sure do have a thing for underdog packs." Jacob caught on to the insult and echoed Seth's previous reaction.

"Actually you won't hear us either," Brady added, "Collin and I are following our imprints. We're joining the cat pack." Collin finally looked up from the girl in his arms at the sound of his name. At this point Quil's jaw dropped and his stare was jumping from person to person around the circle. They all looked at him anxious for his response.

"Wait wait wait! You're all leaving me?!" The expressions all turned to a mix of sympathy and amusement."You can't! I mean, Leah you have babies! And Seth and Myra has a kid too! You can't be nomads with _babies_!" He stressed 'babies'. No one bothered to tell him that they'd already discussed adapting to moving around with the young members. Suddenly Embry jumped to his feet.

"Well now's as good a time as any," Quil looked up at Embry's approach. Embry took a deep breath before digging in his pockets. He pulled something out just as he dropped to one knee in front of Quil whose eyes seemed to get as big as his open mouth."Will you be my beta?" Embry asked just as he flipped open an empty jewelry box. Quil broke out into a grin as everyone doubled over in laughter.

"Your face was priceless." Jacob managed to get out between his asphyxiating laughter. The laughter only continued as Quil jumped into Embry's unsuspecting arms. Embry ran off carrying Quil bridal style towards the beach as Quil yelled,

"I'm the happiest man alive!" Embry made it to the ocean, and dumped his new beta into the water effectively silencing him for the moment before he came up for air and the two wrestled each other in the water. Jacob looked over to make sure they weren't getting too violent. He shook his head in amusement.

"Guess you were always more of a lone wolf hey Jake?" Leah asked him. He met her gaze and just smirked. Tamyra was the only one who realized that everyone was being left out of the pair's silent inside joke though she didn't comment on it.

"So who wants more s'mores?" Jacob asked to the remaining circle. Seth leaned over and grabbed a stick and five marshmallows.

"I do!" He held the gooey masses into the fire. As soon as they were nicely burnt though, Collin and Brady stole them and ran. Seth yelled then chased them. That left Jacob holding a newly wailing Emileah.

"Hey get your kid Lee-ow." In her crying, she'd flung out her fists and smacked Jacob in the face. Everyone laughed as Jacob was continually battered by the strong toddler. "Like mother like daughter." He said as he passed the baby back to Leah. She smirked and thought she saw the girl match her expression when she instantly stopped crying in her mother's arms. Leah reveled in the laughter of her friends and family, knowing that despite the physical distance, nothing could truly keep them apart. The warmth from the fire added to the warmth that had settled in her stomach. Despite the changes and obstacles that had come and were yet to arise, she was able to smile because of the journey. For the first time in a long time she was content. She took in a deep breath admiring the scent of forest, sea, and wood. She exhaled and looked up. The flames burned through the night as the protectors enjoyed every last flicker of light.

**End Book Three

* * *

**


	37. The Scene After the Credits

Dear Mom,

Today is my 8th birthday. I had a party and everyone was there. God-mommy and Tre got me a huge cake. There were balloons and after we had cake, everybody went to the beach and swam. Aunt Tamyra and Nana Sue and a bunch of other ladies cooked a whole bunch of food. It was yummy. Emileah and Sahara sung me a song together. It didn't sound very good but I said thank you anyway. Sorry you couldn't be here, maybe next year? Okay bye now.

Lil Leo

* * *

Dear Dad,

My 9th birthday was yesterday. All of my friends showed up. Is it true that mom died on my birthday? I heard some of the adults say that. When did you die? I left mom another note. I didn't ask her though in case it made her feel sad but since you are a boy I thought that you wouldn't be sad.

Lil Leo

* * *

Dear Mom,

I'm ten years old now. You missed another birthday. I saw a picture of you and dad on your wedding day. You looked really pretty. Nana Sue said I look just like dad but I think I look like you more. I saw god-mommy in one of the pictures and she was wearing a dress. She looked really pretty. I have never seen her in a dress before. When I get married I hope my bride looks just as pretty as you and God-mommy. But don't tell god-mommy that because she still thinks that I don't like girls.

Lil Leo

* * *

Dear Dad,

Guess what? I turned eleven. It wasn't very exciting. I saw all my LaPush friends. God-mommy and Tre bought me a remote control Hummer toy. It's bigger than Collin's. We raced on the beach with them. He kept winning so I ran his over with mine. I don't think he was very happy after that since he ran off into the woods. God-mommy and aunt Tamyra think I should spend a few months in regular school. I'm going to start going to the tribal school in a few weeks. I think I'll miss having aunt Tamyra teach me. I'll be living with Jared and Kim. Sahara and Emileah are staying with the pack but I think Emileah wanted to go to school too. Tre told her she was too important for their next mission so she couldn't stay. Hopefully I'll make friends so I have someone to talk to.

Leo

* * *

Dear Mom,

I'm not sure if I told you about tribal school. I stayed a full year. It was fun staying with Jared and Kim then Paul and Rachel. I was sad on my birthday, it was a week ago but the pack said they had a surprise. God-mommy, Tre, and the others came back. They said their mission went a little longer than they had planned. They said I can stay with them again. I'm happy. I liked LaPush school and coming back to the Rez every once in a while but I feel better with my pack.

Leo

* * *

Dear Father,

I'm thirteen today. A teenager. Tre and Seth said I should be excited about becoming a man. Brady and Collin said I should be getting excited for other reasons. I'm not sure what they meant by that but Tre and Seth beat them up as soon as they said it. I'm not sure who to listen to. I have all these guys around that try to be my dad, but I feel like I don't really have one. I guess I don't since you're dead.

Leonard

* * *

Dear Mother,

I'm 14. I guess I've been selfish the past few years. I haven't congratulated you on being dead for all these years. Consider this repayment for all those years missed. I've decided that I'm going to start referring to Godmom as my mom. You're not here, no matter how many people tell me you are. You'll always be my mother but Leah is my only mom. Don't be too sad, you should have seen this coming in your dream.

Leo

* * *

Dear Sam,

15 years and I don't know who my father is. I haven't phased so I can't be too much like you. Everyone says you were great but all I know is you're a picture of some teenage boy that broke mom's heart. Mom as in Leah. Not your Emily. I don't know why I write these letters. It's not like you'll see them. This is the last time I'll write. I hope you and mom are having a great time wherever you are. And tell her not to expect to hear from me when I turn 16. I'm too old for this. Hopefully the guy that cleans up the cemetery can at least get a kick out of reading these.

L.L.U

P.S. I heard about Joshua. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

* * *


	38. Final AN

A **Final Note**…as in a note that's final…otherwise known as the note with no notes following it…

Sorry about that tangent but I just want to say a few things. Things that I may not have said during the process of writing for fear of giving away details thus minimizing suspense factor. When I started writing this series I had intended on it being a darker story, because for some reason Leah's story (for the little we get in Twilight) just kinda struck me as a set up for a darker, line as opposed to romantic and whimsical. Anyway back on topic. Somewhere in Bliss and Agony I kind of realized I couldn't handle writing 3 books of THAT MUCH Angst thus sparked the random humor scenes. (i.e. Seth/Quil, Wolfpack guys).

Okay now I don't know if anyone noticed but book 1 and book 2 got pushed out pretty quickly (yes they were smaller than this one but whatever) then book 3 kinda took like 2 months. Well that's because book one, by the time I started posting on here, was already pretty much written. Book two I got started on and it seriously flowed like the Mississippi river then finished and by the time book 3 rolled around I only had the major scenes plotted (hence my writing was more "together" in those scenes) but I wanted to thank my reviewers for helping me out in book 3 because I needed a lot of filler and subplots and sometimes that blasted writer's block just came back so you guys gave me ideas for great scenes. I can't remember them all but off hand: that scene where Jacob says he wants Leah to seduce Sam to get the CUllens on the rez…totally hadn't planned to write it but I did because there was so much interest. Which brings me to my next point…

The_ Scene After the Credits_. Ah yes…like I said I suck at ending ENDINGS. And you guys just did not make it any easier on me by asking for more. Of course I give you some type of closure because the story ends when the Dimprint is broken (yay?) and then I threw that in there. That is an idea that's been in my head since book two. There's a hint to it if you can find the one scene in book two that is in neither Leah nor Seth's POV *whistles innocently* **IF** I continue the series, this would be an offshoot kinda but it wouldn't be set up the same as this. It would be first person POV as opposed to this weird 3rd person limited I was doing here AND it would not be in Leah or Seth's POV…it would be in Leonards and Emileahs…growing up in a wolf/panther pack that's always on the move*waits for response*

Okay Okay the time has come: _ULTIMATE SHOUT OUTS11111111111111111111!1_ -yes I did just do that

**X5-452**

**ari11990**

**CallmeEmbrys**

**Davii-hime**

**Sunglasses in the rain**

**Jada91**

**AZIdolFan**

**Theonlywhitegirl**

**Psychokillerhoney**

**ozzy3221**

**bvc17**

**breezybrez**

**AnnaMollyPR**

**JJCB3**

**LoveIt123**

**JocyACullen**

**Fira of the Moon**

**xXuSaGiKiXx**

**Lillie Belle**

**Manic-Cheese-Fairy**

**twilightbby  
**

Thank you to all those who alerted and favorited the story(ies) and/or myself. This is as long as a chapter

**_LAST REQUEST_**: I want to hear your favorite scenes! Favorite Moments, any and everything. It helps to know when my writing is acceptable or just plain lazy. Also I want to know about extra scenes right now I'm hearing: Tre POV (what scene(s)?) and the Billy/Jacob/Embry meeting. I need more. It can be anything. It can be "I wanna see the scene where Harry and Billy make the bet on who Sue would date" or "where the devil is the missing words from that convo with Sam and Leah on the beach and the pack is eavesdropping" or "I wanna see something from the year that past between the last chap and the epilogue". Hey I'll even consider Tre/Tamyra stuff before they meet the wolves like "where's the scene where Clarice breaks up with Tre?" Okay I'll stop force feeding now. But Please I wanna hear it.

This is really long but it's a chap of it's own so I find it acceptable…and the story's complete so I'm gonna ramble as long as I please...

*rambling*

Done now! :)


	39. Til Imprint EXTRA:Chapter 29 and a half

**A/N: **I lied. More notes. This is the Billy/Embry/Jacob scene that took place at the end of Chapter 29.

* * *

Billy was sure his loud laughter was partially aided by nerves. He had tried hard his whole life to never let his son Jacob see him as being vulnerable, weak, anything other than strong and capable. He'd been wheel chair bound when Jacob was of the age when boys thought of their fathers as being supermen. Having to always put up the façade as being in control and strong despite his disability, made it to where he feared little. Now as he watched his two sons place a physical distance between themselves, he found himself a little more than afraid. Afraid of how they would respond to what he would tell them. They were two grown men. Wolves. Either of them, if they so pleased could strike him down with little effort. And now he had two and neither had reason to be allied with him. Both were angry. One because he had lied and the other because he had withheld the truth. _I kind of wish Leah would walk back through that door. _The thought of her name made Billy cringe a little. He knew she was right, he just wish he wasn't so wrong. _No use holding off the inevitable. _The wheelchair squeaked as Billy rolled himself farther into the living room. Jacob had taken station against the wall, wedged between the couch and a side table. Embry stood in the opposite corner leaning against the window. The room wasn't very big and the fact that they could sink their large statures into the room to make it seem as if there was a great distance between tore Billy's heart. Neither acknowledged his entrance.

"So boys…" Billy let the words saturate in the air.

"So…" Embry added. Jacob simply grunted. It was obvious that no one really wanted to be here. _Paul had the right idea about getting out of here. _

"You kids hungry?" Billy suddenly asked. It was silly he knew, considering the wolves were always hungry. He just wanted to stall. Surprisingly Embry didn't take the bait.

"No thank you Billy." Embry said without turning to face him. Billy shot a glance at Jacob who was still looking down at the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. _So this is how it's going to be. _The sound of footsteps on the stairs could be heard and Billy's head snapped up to watch his daughter peer into the room.

"Did I miss the call to a family meeting?" Rachel asked genuinely curious. "Because I just got off the phone with Rebecca and I could call her back-"

"No it's quite alright Rachel. You could join us if you want." Billy's voice was calm although he had a slightly pleading look in his eyes. He had already talked with Rachel and although the girl ignored him for about two weeks, she took the upsetting news over her father's adultery rather well. It didn't mean she wasn't going to leave him to the wolves right now though.

"No I think I'll go find Paul or maybe hang with Kim. Bye." She quickly grabbed a coat and left the room, the obvious avoidance of gazes in the room did not go unnoticed by her as she departed. So Billy sat with his two male heirs.

"I suppose the both of you would like an explanation." Billy started. Embry took in a rather labored breath while Jacob simply sniffed and rubbed his nose as if he wasn't bothered by the tension. Billy turned to Jacob first. The boy carried both his blood and his name. He was the one that was the acknowledged son of the tribal chief. He was the eldest. "I loved Sarah, Jake. Always have and always will." At the first mention of his mother, Jacob shifted his feet. It was painfully obvious that Jacob was exuding the most anger of the trio. "I never meant to hurt her or any of you." Neither boy responded. Billy sighed. "You know men don't mature until they're like 40, heh?" Billy threw in a laugh at the end. _I guess the humor won't work either. _"Listen, I know you don't want to hear all the nitty-gritty details, but when Sarah was pregnant with the girls, she was one the most sane pregnant women I'd ever encountered. When she got pregnant with you Jake, she did a 180." Billy could only hope detailing his thought process at the time would help. "She was moody and-and angry. She was worse than an angry drunk at an open bar."

"Leah on a good day." Jacob deadpanned. Billy's eyes lit up in excitement that his firstborn son had finally spoken to him.

"Yeah. It was driving me insane." Billy had prematurely put too much enthusiasm into his words.

"Doesn't mean I'll go out and make Emily beta." _Ouch. Guess I deserved that one. _

"Okay… so I stepped out on your mother because of that. I was being stupid. It was a silly stupid mista-" Billy was startled by the loud sound of shattering glass. At first he'd thought someone had pounced on him and he'd involuntarily tensed and closed his eyes. Slowly he opened them to the most bizarre scene ever. Both boys were still standing in their identical positions, the only difference being that Jacob's head was raised. He was looking at Embry who was still staring out the window. Billy was sure he'd just heard the crash and was beginning to question his sanity when he noticed it. His window was broken, but that wasn't even what got his blood boiling. _Where is my television set?!

* * *

_

Embry controlled his breathing. He wasn't sure what possessed him to grab the TV and hurl it through the window. It hadn't done anything to him. It hadn't just inadvertently admitted that he was a mistake. It hadn't shattered his broken dreams of finding a father that bowed out of his life for honorable reasons. _Maybe an, 'I'm sorry Embry but I didn't have the money to support you and your mother'. Or 'I'm sorry Embry I didn't know you existed.' Even an 'Embry I witnessed a murder and got thrown into the witness protection program so I had to uproot shortly after you were-'_

"I didn't mean it like that son." The serious yet slightly angry voice of Billy pulled Embry out of his thoughts. Embry would have given the words more credit but he could tell Billy was still sulking over his lost TV. _Material things. He can't even value me over them. _Embry continued looking out the window frame. He smirked slightly, pleased that he could get a rise out of Billy. Mainly because he knew an important game was on tonight that Billy wanted to see and the only set he had easy access to was lying in pieces on his front lawn. "It came out wrong. What I meant was that I was being irresponsible and selfish." Billy paused and it was then that Embry noticed Billy's voice was no longer coated in anger but in another emotion. "You're not a mistake Embry. I made a choice without thinking how many lives would be affected. I didn't think about the two little girls I had at home or my pregnant wife. How they would feel if they ever found out about me spending the after-hours with your mom. I didn't think about her either. How if she got pregnant, I wouldn't be man enough to step up on my own and claim her son as ours. I was ashamed and stupid and that was my mistake, "It was then that Embry recognized the new emotion. _Regret. _"For not revealing myself and for not raising you. For leaving you hanging thinking that your father could be anyone in a sea of 6 billion people, then letting you find out he's either dead, MIA, or practically next door. I was being foolish. That was my mistake, not you." Embry finally turned to look at Billy. The man was in his confining chair, eyes downcast. "I watched from the sidelines and I have to say that I've become as proud of you as I am of Jacob." At the mention of his friend's name, Embry glanced quickly in his direction. Jacob had resumed his position of appearing disinterested. Embry didn't dwell on his friend's figure long as he was feeling the anger dissipate from him. He had harbored the feeling so long, knowing that even once he'd met his father he probably wouldn't even consider forgiving the man yet here he stood. Watching as Billy, looked the most helpless he'd ever been and regretting that he hadn't exposed himself and his family to shame and judgment.

"Billy I don't know what to say." Embry paused as he thought his words over carefully. "You abandon me for twenty years but somehow I'm the one feeling like crap." Embry barely caught the movement but he heard the loud thwack. _I've said two things and Jacob's already upset?

* * *

_

_So maybe punching a hole in the wall was a little much. _Jacob thought as he pulled his fist back to his body to reveal the gaping hole. His head was still down but he could feel two sets of eyes on him. He waited until both their breathing patterns returned to normal. Billy's took a little longer considering this was the second time he'd been startled in ten minutes.

"I may not be Eddy or Jazz," Jacob chose to ignore the eyebrow raise from Embry and continued. "-but I know Embry well enough and I can already tell he's on the path to forgive you. I know that you two think it'll be peachy keen once you get your issues straight but before my feelings get shoved under the bus, I'm going to throw my two cents in." Jacob paused to take a breath and steady his emotions. He looked up and realized his father and brother had eyes locked on him waiting for him to continue. Embry must have thought Jacob wasn't going to continue.

"Jake?" He coaxed.

"I've always thought of Embry as my brother and best friend. It didn't matter if we shared the same blood. I know I haven't been the greatest of friends at times especially recently but I…" Jacob trailed off. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say exactly. _I wish we could all phase into wolves right now and I could just show them what I'm feeling… and how angry I am with Leah for making me come here today. _Jacob huffed in frustration. "I just want you to know that I'm very upset with how you never considered that maybe I-"

"Didn't want to know?" Embry cut him off with the question. Jacob knew that it was the main reason Embry hadn't sought out who his father was.

"No," Jacob barked then took a few steadying breaths before he continued. "That maybe this whole awkward mess could have been avoided if we had known we were blood brothers from the beginning. That maybe we would have been closer because of it," Jacob turned in Billy's direction. "Maybe we coud have proven that we actually believe in a thing called family loyalty and accepted you and supported you had you confessed to mom that you had been turning sheets on her."

"Turning sheets?" Embry murmured the question to himself. Billy just shrugged lightly still trying to take in his son's words.

"Sure we wouldn't have been the picture perfect all American dream family but we would have been a strong one. We were living in our little bubble of lower middle class perfection until the accident. It took mom from us and left you half dead. No wonder Rach and Becca caught the first plane out of here to _'see the world'_" No one missed Jacob's air quotes. "None of us knew how to deal with real trauma. Maybe if we had to go through trials early on, it would have softened the blow…" Jacob's initially harsh tone had smoothed out and all but turned into a whisper as he trailed off when he felt arms wrap around him. He looked up and saw Embry as he hugged Jacob close to him. For a moment, Jacob panicked thinking that one of them was crying, but neither was. It was one really long moment before Jacob wrapped an arm around his friend and brother. He stole a glance at Billy and found his father's eyes were glistening although he knew the old man wouldn't let anything escape. There were only two people that Jacob knew were pros at holding back tears, one being his beta, and the other being his father.

"I'm so sorry boys but hopefully we will be able to move past this and be a real family." Billy said softly. Jacob patted Embry on the back in both a comforting gesture and one of 'alright that's enough of that'. As Embry pulled out of the embrace he was smiling. Jacob returned it with one of his own.

"Black-Call brothers?" Jacob asked. Embry shook his head.

"Just Black brothers." Their sentimental moment was ruined by a teasing voice.

"Aww ain't that cute?" The falsetto voice was followed by a girlish giggle. The three looked up to find the owner of the voice peering in through the broken window.

"Shut up Paul!" The three screeched.


	40. Til Imprint EXTRA: Tre Leah

**A/N: **A somewhat significant Leah/Tre scene *whistles*

* * *

Leah wasn't sure when she had stepped into the Twilight Zone but she was sure she had. She walked into the Uley residence expecting it to be vacant. Having become a haven house for traveling shape shifters, it was subject to considerable destruction. This led to remodeling every few weeks. Leah was carrying Emileah in her arms. The child was already six months old and was large for her age. Leah was assaulted by voices and fumes immediately. She ran towards the living room only to find Tre repainting a wall while Paul sat on a couch drinking tea and was chatting it up with a very talkative Renesmee. Leah figured her presence meant that Jacob was nearby and as if on cue, the alpha wolf strolled into the room carrying another can of mahogany paint. He sat it down near Tre and proceeded to open it when he noticed Leah's presence.

"Oh hey Lee. Want a brush?" Before Leah could answer Jacob or question Paul's intelligence as he complained about his bitter water, a child crawled in front of her gigging hysterically.

"How's god-mommy's lil Leo?" Leah did in her baby voice as she bent down to pinch Leonard's cheeks. He giggled more as Tenia ran in. She had been chasing him. His eyes lit up in excitement as she neared. Tenia's smile faltered when she noticed Leah in the room she recovered but Leah immediately knew the new smile was less genuine.

"Hello Leah." She tried to say pleasantly Leah just nodded as she heard another baby enter the room. It was Sahara in panther form. As soon as she caught sight of her cousins she promptly phased back to human form and toppled over laughing. Emileah struggled a little in Leah's arms so she let the child down and watched as her daughter made her way over to the other baby girl. They immediately started playing with each other. Leah glanced up and saw that Tre had stopped painting and was carefully watching the two, the ghost of a look of worry on his face. She'd learned over the past few weeks that he loved children but was very protective of younger ones. They seemed far too fragile in his eyes and every little thing they did caused him to worry for their well being. It made Leah glad that Emileah had two parents. _The girl would grow up and never know how to take a hit with him always around her. _Leah was torn from her thoughts as Tenia squealed happily. The sound caused everyone in the room to turn to what had caught her attention. Leonard had just pulled his chubby baby body up into a standing position. He had been doing it for weeks now although it usually ended in him taking one step away from his support and falling on his diaper clad bottom.

"I think he's gonna do it," Tenia whispered excitedly. "I think he's gonna take his first steps." All eyes were on the eleven month old. He peered around at everyone but he just seemed to be laughing at the overly excited Tenia, probably waiting for their game of chase to start again. Leah expected him to clap his hands in glee then lose his balance but instead he let go of the chair and steadied himself for a few moments.

"I'll get my camera." Tre said as he quickly exited the room. Besides Jacob's nod, no one responded to him, too intent on watching the youngster. Tenia lowered herself to the baby's height as she began coaxing him to her. He looked at her and her waving hands but he didn't seem driven to move from his spot. "Leah, you try calling him." Leah was going to snap at him for ordering her around but she let it slide realizing that he was trying to hide his excitement as he readied the camera. Leah bent down in a similar position to Tenia.

"C'mere Leo." Leah called him, although her voice wasn't nearly as high pitched or excitable as Tenia's it was soothing and warm in a way that only a mother knows how. Leonard was taken by that as his face construed into one of youthful determination. He pushed himself away from the chair, arms outstretched as his feet led him on a straight path for his god-mother. This time it was Renesmee who squealed in delight. Tenia was still calling the baby in her direction but it was obvious who Leonard was headed to. Renesmee overcome with excitement used her half vampire speed to move closer and stand behind Leah. The action startled Leonard and he faltered midstride. He recovered but his last few steps were off balanced and his unsteady walk turned into an off balance run as his momentum picked up and he stumbled the rest of the way to Leah hoping on her to catch him.

"Catch him babe." Leah shot up. Her hands moved away causing Leo to pitch face first into the carpeted floor. His frustrated whines didn't phase Leah though, as her eyes were locked with the shifty ones half hidden behind a camera. Everyone turned in the same direction as Leah to watch Tre begin squirming, he obviously caught his mistake a little too late.

"What did you just call me?" Leah asked in pure disbelief. Tre lowered the camera as Tenia scooped Leonard into her arms, torn between moving the defensive children into a backroom and watching to see how things played out. Leah repeated her question as she stepped closer to Tre.

"I…uh…" Leah growled lowly as Tre fumbled for words. "I let it slip I'm sorry. It's not what you think. I call everyone babe."

"You don't call _me_ babe." Jacob instigated causing Paul to laugh and quickly disguise it as a cough when Leah glared at him."

"My mistake. It's just that I've gotten comfortable around you and I start to form pet names."

"Pet names? Sounds serious." Paul chuckled at his own joke.

"My mouth runs away from me sometimes." Tre managed a side smirk. Leah hadn't responded outside of glaring at him. Yes she had accepted the fact that his presence was a new constant in her life but they were nowhere near the pet names stage. _If we even get to that point. _Leah shook the thought away.

"Just don't say it again," She said gruffly.

"Of course. I apologize." He said quickly. Leah caught Paul doing the motion of swinging a whip out of the corner of her eye. When she snapped her head to look at him he pretended he was innocent. _As if._


	41. Til Imprint EXTRA: Harry Billy

**A/N: **Thinking back to Leah's dream scene with Harry...

* * *

"Happy Birthday Billy." Harry said as he let himself into the Black's home. "I brought Leah and Seth by, hope you don't mind." He continued as he walked deeper into the house and found his friend sitting in front of the TV. "Lee has been asking about the girls and Seth wanted to see Jake."Billy only grunted a response. Harry immediately picked up on his friend's foul mood. Harry strolled over and plopped down on the couch. He held out a brown paper bag in front of Billy's face. "Got ya some fish fry." He said happily. Billy eyed it first before succumbing and grabbing the bag out of his friend's hands.

"Did you bring any beer?" Harry smirked knowing that the gratitude was hidden in the question.

"No but Charlie said he'll bring some when he comes." Harry glanced out the window and saw that his kids had taken to playing outside in their respective roles. _Looks like Seth and Jacob are about to pull a sneak attack on the girl- oh wait no Leah saw them. How many times have I told that boy to be sneakier? I didn't know Rachel had such an arm on her. _

"He's on beer duty again huh?" Billy asked as looked into the greasy bag.

"If you prefer food poisoning or pizza, I'll switch him to food dut-" Harry was cut off by Billy's laughter. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Billy was intent on watching the game being replayed on ESPN Classics and Harry glanced between the TV and outside to check on the kids. When a commercial came on Billy sighed. Harry patted him on the back. "Alright old friend, what's eatin you?"

"The fact that I _am_ an old man."

"Oh come now Billy. There's no need to be dramatic and have a midlife crisis _on_ your birthday. At least wait two weeks when you've had enough time to get your AARP card in the mail."

"I already got that coupon magazine thing in the mail."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, they were running a special for hearing aids. Buy three for the price of one." Billy paused. "I'm halfway into the grave anyway." Billy's laugh was laced in sadness as he gestured to his lower body.

"Billy, I'll probably beat you to the afterlife."Harry said and added a pat to his bulging stomach.

"Is that a bet?" Billy asked. Harry nodded.

"Yep. Whoever kicks the can first wins fifty."

"So one of us is just gonna waste fifty dollars by throwing it on top of a casket or what?"Billy asked. Harry shrugged.

"Just give it to the kids or something."Harry laughed. The genuine sound caused Billy's spirits to lift a little.

"I'm just nostalgic I guess." Harry knew Billy wasn't saying everything. He figured he'd need to pull it out of him.

"Nostalgic about what? When you were a cross country star?" Harry grinned at the forceful laugh that erupted from Billy at that statement. "Oh wait you sucked at sports even when you had two good legs."

"I'll have you know," the front door opened and in walked the short statures of a ten year old Jacob and an eight year old Seth. "That I may not have been the peak athlete but quite the woman connoisseur in my day."

"Oh great, they're having flashbacks." Jacob complained. "Let's go play in the garage Seth." Seth nodded enthusiastically as they walked right back out the door.

"That's right you were the ladies man in high school." Harry confirmed. Billy nodded. "And I was always your wingman."

"You loved that job."

"I always had to work the sweet girls because they'd walk right up to you and in an oh so eloquent manner call you a bastard, then I would have to be all sweet and funny to talk you up to them so you could take them on one date. All my work just so they could call you bastard again the next day and actually mean it that time. I hated that job!" Harry complained amicably. Billy laughed again.

"It couldn't have been that bad. I was the Chief's son remember."

"Yeah I remember which is why I asked myself, how you could be so much of a womanizer that girls could look past all that glory and hate your guts." Harry shook his head with the memory. "Good thing Sarah came and knocked you down a few pegs."

"Yeah, I'll never forget that. She walked right up to me and said Billy Black, you are a jerk and there is no amount of flattery you could give me to make me change my mind and go out with you," Billy said in his mock of his late wife's voice. "Then she finished with that glare. It was the most evil thing I'd ever seen."

"She learned it from Sue." Billy cocked his head in surprise of the statement and in a little disbelief. "I'm serious. Sue's father told me that she's been doing that glare since she was twelve and it just gets worse and worse with each passing year. She taught it to Sarah when they were teens. And don't get me started on Leah."

"Did Sue teach her too?"

"I'm assuming. I walked in on her and her mother glaring at each other for like five minutes a few weeks ago all because Leah didn't want to wash the dishes that day. Thought it was World War Three in my kitchen."

"Sue's pretty feisty. Maybe I should have married her." Billy suggested. Harry would have laughed until he caught the slight hint of sadness. He figured Billy was thinking about Sarah again, which meant he was reflecting on the accident. "I sure do miss my woman. Amongst other things." _I know my friend too well. _

"What makes you think she'd go for you?" Harry challenged. Billy's mouth twitched.

"All the ladies love me." Billy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Sue already has a soft spot for my _fragile state."_

"Ain't that the truth? I swear she shows more concern for you than me." The two men laughed. "Then again she might go for Charlie."

"She got a soft spot for guns too?" Harry waved his hand dismissively.

"Nope, but she's been feeling sorry for him for a while now. Plus she has a thing for staches."

"Are you saying Sue would pick Charlie over me?" Harry nodded his head. Billy scoffed.

"You don't believe me?" Billy shook his head. "Fine we'll make a sub-bet to that other one. If I'm 6 feet under before you are, and Sue starts dating you, you only owe me 25. If she goes to Charlie, you owe me 75 big ones!" Billy contemplated for a moment before sticking his hand out.

"You got a deal." They shook. "Oh wait what if she doesn't go for either of us?" Harry chuckled.

"Did I mention she has a thing for Chiefs?"


	42. Til Imprint EXTRA:the rest of chapter 21

**A/N: **College called and I had to answer. Anyway here's the scene a few of you asked for. We finally find out what was said between Leah and Sam on the beach...that one day...yeah

oh and before i forget again, if you're waiting for that series sequel that I have yet to post because it's still being worked out in my head (i do have stuff written though it's ust not cohesive yet) okay what was i saying...oh yeah if you're waitin, I suggest author alerting me so you know when i start it because I may or may not put a note about it on here.

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Leah had been spending the last few nights meeting Sam. She was a grown woman, and pregnant at that but the idea of sneaking out without the others' knowledge to see Sam gave her a sort of rush. She liked the mischief, the secrecy. It wasn't that big a deal but it reminded her of the days when she had first started dating Sam and she tried to keep it a secret from her mother. She didn't learn for months that Sue had known she was dating Sam Uley two days after they had started. Her father and brother on the other hand had remained completely oblivious until Sam showed up for dinner one night. Leah chuckled as she neared the beach. She had found a route through the forest that led to their meeting place. She could only hope no one would become nosey and catch her scent. When the beach came into view, Sam was already heading her way.

"I smelled you coming." He stated once he was only a few feet away. Leah ignored the comment.

"Why are we meeting so late tonight?" Sam shrugged.

"I had to speak with Embry, Jared, and Paul." He said in a bored manner. Leah let the subject drop. She kicked at some of the sand then rubbed her stomach that slightly obstructed the view of her feet. "Do you want to take a walk or something?" He asked not quite sure what they were going to do next. The last few nights they would never really do anything. Leah truthfully lost interest once she arrived. The rush was gone. Sometimes they would just sit in silence until Leah would complain about needing to relive herself or she would ask Sam where his son was. Those times he would look surprised then excuse himself. It angered Leah that she still had to remind Sam that he had a son sometimes.

"Sure let's go." They started walking along the shore side by side. Neither would grab the other's hands. It reminded Leah of the years of their relationship. She had always been the initiator. He would glance at her nervously then she would get the hint and do what he was too chicken to. Sam was a leader by nature but when it came to matters of the heart and relationships, _he was a wuss. _

"What's on your mind?" Sam asked noticing Leah's frequently changing expressions despite the silence between them. Leah shook her head and laughed a little.

"I keep thinking back to when we were dating." She finished a little sadly. Sam gave her a look indicating for her to continue. "Do you remember the first time you had dinner with my family?" She asked and looked up at him waiting for his answer. Sam's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "And when my mom asked us how our relationship was going and my dad about fell out of his chair because he didn't know we were." Sam laughed lightly. "And Seth almost choked because he thought it was gross that anyone could 'like like' his sister." Sam nodded after hesitating. He held a smile but Leah thought it looked a little fake. "Then mom explained that we had been dating for 2 months to dad and he about burst a blood vessel." Leah stated. Sam laughed a little louder this time. Leah didn't join him. She just frowned when he regained his composure. He noticed her sudden silence and cold demeanor again.

"What is it Lee-"

"It was 5 months Sam." Leah whispered quickly. Sam was confused. He was about to question her but she continued. "We hid our relationship from my parents for 5 months. Not two." She looked back up at him again. "You don't remember any of it do you?" It wasn't really a question as much as it was an accusation. Sam sighed.

"I…I remember my feelings for you. I know they existed. I just can't recall all the details of everything."

"Is that what imprinting does? It wipes out your memory." She spat in disgust.

"I can remember my life. It's just that my love life seems to be targeted especially for…erasing." He admitted. Leah knew that besides her, Sam didn't have much of a love life. Had they just been close friends or something, she probably would have remained a solid figure in his memory. He didn't really remember the dinner. He was just laughing because it sounded funny, if it had really happened. Leah groaned.

"Just forget it. I want to have a nice heart ache free night." She said. He didn't argue. They just fell back into a silence. Leah would periodically remark on her pregnancy and Sam would talk about whatever instance he could recall that had happened in his son's life recently. She giggled when he talked about how Paul and Embry were trying to change Leonard's diaper and Leonard ended up throwing his pacifier at them in frustration. As they headed back up the beach Sam stopped her.

"I think it'll be good if we socialized like we used to do before…"He trailed off leaving the request hanging in the air.

"What like hang out?" Leah asked not sure what he was getting at."Like before you were a dad?"

"Before you were pregnant?"He threw back.

"Before when you weren't leading a pack of wolves?" Leah joked.

"And when you weren't either?" He added.

"Before-" Leah stopped herself knowing she was going to turn this into an argument if she continued. Surprisingly it was Sam who continued.

"Before _her._" Leah watched his face fall. Leah joined him in looking at the ground. She didn't know how they would ever be able to communicate if every mention of Emily brought about this type of a reaction. She noticed that Sam kept trying to say something to her but he couldn't seem to get the words out. Leah didn't look up. She was too busy with her own thoughts. She didn't know if the two of them could truly be ready for anything with each other. _Could we even be friends? We weren't even friends before we started dating. _Leah figured she had left him in silence long enough.

"Maybe this isn't the best time. You want to look out for Leo and I need to focus on my baby." She explained not wanting to look him in the eyes as she rejected him.

"We can help each other out with that too. You said we could help each other. We can help with raising the kids." Apparently Sam was not taking no for an answer. Leah looked up at him then.

"That's a pretty big jump Sam. I don't even know who I want to be the father figure in my kid's life. And I can't help feeling guilty that it's going to be Seth just because he'll probably always be around with Myra and Sahara." She wasn't trying to be harsh but she needed to get her point across.

"Then I wont be the father, I'll be the male babysitter." Sam started to sound desperate. Leah dropped the sensitive act, speaking slightly more strongly.

"Sam you don't know how to babysit. Then there's the whole matter with Tre-"

"What does he have to do with anything?" Sam asked in disgust. Leah decided to make her voice even again.

"Technically he's the baby's father so-"

"No, he's just some weirdo rapist that doesn't know he's not welcome after the crime's committed. I have half a mind to have him thrown in jail after this battle is over." Leah's attempt at remaining calm wasn't working since Sam had already started shaking. She found his reaction to be uncalled for.

"What is it between you two? I'm the only one with rights to treat him like crap! What'd he do to you?" She asked taking a step back. Her hands latched themselves to her hips.

"He hurt you! And he can do it again. I've seen you look defeated before and I knew that it was my fault that look was there. I never want to see it again." Sam explained, finally calming down. Leah tilted her head to the side.

"Funny…he said pretty much the same thing." Leah said remembering when Tre had warned her to stay away from Sam.

"What?" Sam asked, his anger and shock causing him to shriek the question. That reaction had been the last straw. Leah felt her calm completely leave her.

"I don't need the flippin protection from you too. He's already riled up cause I'm carrying his kid, I guess that's some dumb territorial thing but you Sam, you have no right to do that because one I'm not your imprint and two this isn't your kid. So don't go all alpha wolf or beta wolf or whatever the freak you are on me! You want us to have some sort of relationship? Fine! But I'm not playing this tug of war game with you and Tre because I will do just fine without either of you!" She yelled then promptly turned around and headed back down the shore. She figured Sam wouldn't follow her since she wouldn't listen to him anymore. _I don't need him. I don't need either of them. I will be a perfectly good single mother so they can suck on that!_


	43. Til Imprint EXTRA: All Hail the Chief

**A/N: **ah yes X5-452 totally gave me this idea :) also Update on the possible sequel...actually it should now be labeled as the probable sequel because I officially have a title for it I still dont know when i'll start posting it because well...college will start killing me soon.

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"Embry." Embry stirred in his sleep. He refused to open his eyes though. "Embry." The voice, he thought was very beautiful but it wasn't enough to pull him out of this comfortable bed. "Embry." That time it was a little more insistent. Embry groaned as he buried his face into the pillow. The next thing he knew, he felt a hand rubbing his exposed back. "Embry baby, c'mon. It's time to wake up. You have a lot of work to do today." He shook his head back and forth, his face still buried in the pillow. The soothing voice and rubbing stopped immediately. For a moment, Embry thought he had won the argument and would be granted a few more minutes of sleep. "Embry!" And with the now angry voice, came a sharp slap to his backside.

"Ow! Ten, what was that for?" Embry screeched as he jumped up in the bed. He began rubbing the soft tissue to force the stinging pain away as he looked at his imprint, standing a foot from his bed. "Did you just whip me with a chain?" He asked pointing to the offending object that dangled from her hands. She didn't seem fazed by his hysterics.

"I've tried cooing, yelling, massages, cold water, hot water, now I have to resort to whipping you! If you would just wake up the first time I wouldn't have to go to such extremes." She moved closer to the bed and Embry instinctively slid closer to the headboard. "You have a lot of work to do today mister so I suggest you get up and get ready," she had leaned forward, her lips barely an inch from Embry's. He had the sensation to kiss her. "Unless you want me to light the fire torch under your butt to get you moving." _Sensation gone. _Embry nodded. It satisfied her as she left the room. Embry watched her retreating form as he reflected on her. Most of his friends thought she was much too young to be so headstrong. She had just finished high school a year early. Although he couldn't fault her, he was still sad that most of the people he associated with did not get along with her. She butt heads with Rachel on a daily basis and any encounter she had with Leah resembled the change of a cold war turning into a hot one.

He walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower, his thoughts still on his imprint. She could be demanding but somehow he found it endearing. She kept him on his toes, kept him organized. Today being a prime example, especially since he still couldn't remember what work had to be completed. As soon as he was finished drying off she called him down for breakfast. When he was clothed and reached the dining room however, there was no sign of Tenia, just a large skillet of cooling eggs and some sausage.

"The meat's a little burnt and the eggs are slightly runny but I'd say it's edible." Embry whipped around at the voice. Sitting in the corner of the kitchen was Billy.

"How'd you get in here?" Billy chuckled then rolled himself closer to Embry.

"Jacob dropped me off actually, before he went to see Ness. Tenia told me to tell you she left to meet a friend." Embry found that odd. Why would Tenia leave him without so much as a cue to what tasks he had for the day? Billy caught on to Embry's confused expression and laughed again. "I suppose you've forgotten what today is." Embry's eyes widened. He racked his brain trying to figure out what today was but he came up blank. The fact that even Billy knew what he should be doing and he didn't bothered him. "Go on, eat your breakfast then we'll head out." Embry didn't question him. He piled almost all the eggs and the remaining sausage links onto his plate. Billy just sat lost in his own thoughts as Embry forced the food down quickly not wanting Billy to have to wait for him for too long. When he was finished eating he looked up. "Finished?" Embry nodded. "Okay, well let's go." Again Embry didn't question and just wheeled Billy out of the front door of the house. Billy would every so often give him directions but Embry soon discovered that they were just aimlessly wandering through the reservation. Neither spoke although Billy would return the occasional greeting to neighbors. The silence was unnerving and Embry still didn't know what was significant about the day. He stopped pushing the wheelchair.

"Billy, for the life of me I don't know what today is." Billy laughed again. Embry didn't find it humorous that his father was finding amusement in his confusion.

"Don't worry son, I figured as much. It's your first day."

"First day of what?"

"Training as Chief and Elder." That sent Embry into a nervous silence. "I had imagined one day it would be Jacob that I would be having this conversation with." Embry didn't know if he should feel offended but considering his first act of being irresponsible and forgetting about the day he let it slide. "I wanted to bring you out today so that you can get a real good look at the Reservation. Look at it in a different light. As the place that you'll be bound to protect for the duration of your days."

"I already protect it." Billy nodded his agreement.

"Yes you protect it as a shape shifter, as an alpha wolf. But you'll come to learn that it's more than just protecting the people from vampires. It's more than just keeping the pack a secret. Right now, your main concerns deal with the pack." Billy paused to wave at a little girl that ran by them. "But when you become Chief, you will have to worry about the affairs of the rest of the Reservation as well. The human affairs. They know nothing of the supernatural so they will expect their concerns to be of equal weight as any other issue. You'll have to learn to balance your focus. I'm not a wolf so I don't know first hand although I have lived with knowing the secret for years. There has only been one person who came close to having to deal with leading the tribe and the pack."

"Sam."

"Yes, he struggled with it greatly. He was a good alpha to you all but outside of the pack and Emily, he found it hard to put much thought into the rest of the reservation outside of protecting their lives. That will be your main test. Learning to keep the two worlds separated yet equal. They will be united under you, tied together even if they aren't exactly cohesive." Embry let Billy's words saturate in his mind. He realized that Billy was now directing them towards the Elder's building. When they got inside, they headed towards one of the back rooms.

"Billy where are we going?"

"Your position will be more difficult than mine was. You now not only have the tribe to worry about but the people that fall under your care as an ambassador to the Haven project." Just then Embry heard a few voices coming from a small room in the hallway that they were moving down. He picked out Tamyra's voice then a few younger voices chorusing after her. "It will be difficult to balance that as well." Billy knocked on the door when Embry rolled him up to it. It was Seth who opened the door. He smiled and waved the two in. Embry rolled Billy in who continued to roll himself over to where Tamyra stood at the front of the room. The room had been changed to resemble a classroom. In the center of the room sat five small desks. At four of them were four students. Embry recognized them as the four young preteens that had been sent to live in their haven for a few months. He had only officially met two of them so far.

"Mr. Embry!" A young boy waved. Embry had met him three weeks ago. He was the first their haven had received. He had opened up to Embry immediately telling him of his troubled childhood. How he had 7 older brothers yet he was the only one who developed the ability to shift into a hawk. He had runaway hoping to find somewhere he could belong. "Did you know that Elephants can be pregnant for almost two whole years?" He asked excitedly. This earned him a quick smack from the girl sitting in the seat in front of him. He whined just as she was scolded by Leah who Embry had just realized was standing in the back of the room. The scold wasn't very forceful. Embry could tell Leah was trying not to laugh. He had to admit, the kid was asking for it especially since the girl had the ability to shift into an elephant. They had found that out the hard way when the boy had taunted her on the beach and she promptly shifted, nearly crushing him after having only known him for about an hour.

"Class, we should probably give a proper welcome to the Chief and Ambassador don't you think?" Tamyra asked quickly regaining control again before things got bad from an elephant and a hawk. The four students greeted them. Tamyra had the other two children introduce themselves.

"I'm Sylvia. I'm from Maine. I shift into a turtle and I'm 13." She said excitedly. Embry shook the girl's hand. He looked at the pale boy with dark brown hair seated behind her. He seemed frightened and shy.

"What's your name son?" Embry heard Billy ask from behind him. The boy looked up.

"Marvin." He said and quickly looked back down to his desk. Embry heard his heart rate increase and he could tell the boy was nervous.

"Marvin." He looked up when Embry called his name. "Where are you from?" The boy shrugged.

"Somewhere off the coast of northern Canada." He said quickly. Embry shot a glance at his comrades around him. They had varying degrees of pity in their eyes. Embry turned back to the boy, intent on getting to know him. He reached his hand out to comfort the boy.

"It's okay, you'll feel right at-" Embry was cut off when the boy got alarmed by his approaching hand. He jumped out of his seat and backed up only to promptly shift into a walrus in the middle of the class. His large tusks and whiskers reacted to all the commotion he had just caused. Embry found himself slightly intimidated by the large size. The other students had already retreated to the backsides of the adults in the room. Embry watched as Billy rolled closer to the nervous walrus attempting to calm him. The boy eventually calmed but when his large head looked around, Embry noticed that the boy was staring at the pieces of his shredded clothing. His eyes were sad as he ducked his head down again. Seth left the room to gather some more clothes. Tamyra and Leah ushered the other three students out of the room as well. This left Embry and Billy with the walrus until Seth returned. When he did, Embry and Billy excused themselves so that Marvin could get dressed. Tamyra went to stand next to Embry, their backs leaning against the wall just outside the classroom.

"He's a runaway," she started, whispering to him but not having eye contact. "His family, they preferred living in their animal forms most of the time. They 'go human' only for necessity." Embry raised an eyebrow questioning the statement. "Like for births or to communicate to infiltrating humans." Embry nodded his understanding. "The children phase young, purely out of need to belong. They see their parents and older relatives all happily interacting as large animals yet they are stuck as humans. Marvin phased for the first time just last year, late by their calculations. Needless to say he's more attached to his human form, even if he's not quite sure how to function in normal society." The words surprised Embry. It was strange that in a sense, the boy was an outsider because he was human. It was as if he were a walrus that could turn into a human and not the other way around. The school had anticipated receiving children who would need help adapting to becoming beasts of the wild, not the other way around. He sighed and after a few moments Tamyra walked away from him to open the door. Embry was met with the sight of a newly dressed Marvin bending down in the process of righting one of the desks he had knocked over during his phase. He froze, frightened when they all re-entered the room. Embry figured he was waiting for some type of punishment. Embry walked over to him and helped him tidy the room.

"I'm sorry." Marvin croaked. His voice was shaky and it was obvious that he didn't speak much. Embry very slowly moved his hand to place it on the boy's shoulder.

"Don't worry. We're all here to support you, and to help you get better at this." Embry turned around and saw Billy nod his head at him in encouragement. Embry turned back to Marvin. "If it makes you feel any better, I still have the urge to tear up a room or two when I phase." Embry smiled and the boy looked up and returned a small one. Everyone eased back into their places. Marvin returned to his seat but before Embry and Billy could leave Marvin looked up.

"Thank you Mr. Embry." Embry nodded in return. Once he had rolled Billy back down the hall the older man spoke.

"You're doing a good thing here, Embry. Those kids will look to Tamyra as a teacher, to the pack as its protectors. Dare I say, Leah will remind them of a mother, and you, well you will represent all those things in the form of a respectable friend. At first I thought you may not be able to handle all those pressures but I saw how genuine you were with that boy in there and although it may be hard, I'm sure you'll be great at everything you do." Embry softened incredibly at the heartfelt words.

"Thanks Billy."

"You're welcome son."


	44. BlissAgImprint EXTRA: TAF

**A/N: ***walks in timidly* Hi guys. Sorry bout uh you know not updating anything for like 2 two weeks and uh not responding to reviews...engineering school hurts. So hope this maes up for it. Tre POV (finally) :)

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He sat down at his desk and yawned. He'd kept Emileah overnight, the baby cried for most of the time. When he finally got her to sleep, he got dressed, dropped the sleeping child off at Collin's house and came in to work for the early shift. The station was empty. Silent. He could barely keep awake. Suddenly the phone rang. He glanced at the clock and realized that he'd been at his desk for two hours. He answered.

"Forks Police Department."

"I bet the Chief wouldn't be so appreciative of you answering his phone with so little enthusiasm." He smiled. He had gotten used to the new sensations that came with the imprint. Anytime he heard Leah's voice or saw her smile or even scowl playfully, he felt a warming through his entire body. He was careful to not let every reaction become visible to her as she would no doubt nag on him about it. Tre half listened to Charlie's threats and sincerely hoped the guy was joking when he mentioned a double shift. He could barely keep his eyes open now. He heard Charlie tell Leah to remind her mother about tonight and he immediately became disgusted.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Leah's response showed that she was equally disgusted. After being ordered to go grocery shopping, he grudgingly obliged. He even enjoyed the banter between himself and Leah, if only for the fact that it had not always been like this. He said he was going to make it up to her, all the things he'd done and he knew that he had probably signed on for life with that promise. It was the reason why he let her run over him so much. _Good thing my father can't see me right now. He'd probably disown me for playing second fiddle to a woman. _

He sighed as he began organizing in anticipation of Charlie's arrival. When he finished, he sat back and realized he still had a few minutes before the Chief strolled in so he sat back and convinced himself that he was only letting his eyes rest. His thoughts immediately drifted back to his first arrival in Forks. He remembered that Tamyra had urged him to stay a few days behind her when they had made it to Utah.

"The pull's getting really strong. I think it best if you let me get a few days on you." His immediate response was to deny her that request, his older brother senses kicking in. There was no way he was going to let her run into the unknown by herself. She had noticed his struggle. "Please." She begged then elaborated on the fact that the closer he stayed to her the more pain she felt from the pull. As if it wouldn't be satiated unless she came to the source alone.

He had agreed to stay a few days behind her not quite sure where the pull was leading her but following her trail diligently. The pull had been interesting he concluded. When Tamyra had first revealed it to him he feared that she was in the early stages of schizophrenia. But when he listened to her usually hidden thoughts he discovered that the unidentified young woman's voice she was hearing was neither talking to Tamyra nor acknowledging his sister's presence. He was dumbfounded and after days of no sign that the voice or the pull was going away he urged her to follow it if only to find the source and purge herself of the affliction. Of course he was hot on her trail the entire time.

They had been running for weeks and he found himself in the forests of Washington. Tamyra's scent had become highly concentrated signaling that she'd stopped moving. He could also pick up a few other scents. He had hoped that having given Tamyra about a week to her own devices that she would have resolved the issue with the pull and he was just playing the part of pick up. That the two would be leaving and going back to Orson in a few days tops. It was at that moment Tre remembered, that he'd noticed _her_ in the trees. He hadn't seen her up close but he knew it was girl. The grey wolf looked huge and elegant at the same time. He figured she thought she was hiding as she surveyed him but having done work as a scout for Da-the beta-he had really sharp eyes.

He had embraced his sister when she found him. He met the hulking figure of Jacob Black next and immediately became worried that he'd left his sister alone in the presence of such a man. But the smile that Jacob had flashed seemed so genuine that he let some of his unease dissipate. Tamyra had off handedly mentioned the grey wolf's name was Leah. He mindlessly wondered if she was as tall as the man in front of them. Tamyra had pulled him along to the Reservation, all the while chattering away about what had happened to her in the past week. She revealed the source of her pull being Leah and he wondered if that was why she had been subconsciously exuding so much disdain for the other girl in her thoughts.

Tre groaned when he remembered what had happened next. It had been his first encounter with Sam. He had remained neutral the entire time, knowing it wasn't his place to interfere with the accusations being thrown that somehow involved his sister, but he figured the argument that had went forth somehow went deeper than whatever his sister hadn't revealed that happened in the past seven days. He had to admit he was distracted as well. It had been the first time he'd seen Leah in human form. He couldn't stop admiring her physique. He hoped she hadn't seen him gawking at her and inwardly cursed his hormones for acting up then. He was five years out of his teens, he shouldn't still be acting like one. He started feeling a little excited, although he hid it well, when he discovered that he would in fact be staying with Leah and her brother, whom he would meet later.

The first night there, Tre recalled was probably one of the better sleeps he had. Although he felt bad about having stolen Seth's room, he couldn't deny that he'd missed the feel of a bed. With the panthers always on the move, they opted for sleeping together in large tents or sometimes "roughing it" in panther form. Sleeping wherever they got tired, whether it be dirt, sand, or mud.

The next day, Tamyra had taken him on a tour of the reservation. Introducing him to a few people she had known for mere days, embracing them as if she'd known them for years. Tre frowned. They had been travelling with the panther pack for years and she still hadn't warmed to most of them. The only person she had started to get close to was Clarice, his girlfriend, or now ex girlfriend. It was when she became an ex that Tamyra had turned completely icy towards the almost comrade. Tre knew he could have hidden his disappointment from the breakup better, if only to salvage the one friendship Tamyra would have had but he'd been too heartbroken to see too far out of his own problems. Then after the…incident with Damien, he found that his sister had completely closed off from everyone even him.

But there she was joking and laughing with these strangers. Completely at ease and comfortable. It was why when she nearly dragged him to the bonfire out of excitement that he obliged her by interacting with all the people she threw in front of him. Of course when Leah had joined in on the task of introducing him, he felt himself becoming more comfortable and the greetings no longer felt like a chore or task but a privilege. At the time Tre hadn't associated it with Leah's presence. He simply applied it to the people as a whole. He was intrigued by their legends and found himself somewhat jealous that they had such a colorful history. A history tailored to their individual tribe, that included both the natural and supernatural. He was nervous when Billy had asked him to share his and his sister's story.

He carefully left out most parts about his pre-panther family life. That was no history. He was the son and immediate heir to his father's company. He didn't know anything specific about his family tree prior to 1890 and outside of his sister, he didn't fully trust most of his blood relatives. Then he transformed and found an assembly of distant relatives that share some history that stems back as far as the 1600s. What he wanted to know was what happened in those missing 300 years. He made his story as interesting as possible but he was surprised when Sam had spoken out against him so forcefully. He wasn't surprised that the man had spoken out since the pack always ran into people that were distrustful of them with each new group they encountered. He was more surprised that the alpha had called him out in public, and called him out on the exact thing that his pack was guilty of: Exploiting other shape shifters if they didn't comply with negotiations.

A negotiator was exactly what he was. His training kicked in quickly as he sought to diffuse the tension. Soon after Clarice had dumped him and became beta female, he'd been promoted to one of the negotiator positions. Aggressive and Passive were the two choices, he'd chosen to be a passive having not agreed with many of the tactics of the aggressors. His job was simply to get the leaders and members of groups to trust him enough that they would blindly agree to whatever it was that he requested. Even if the guilt ate away at him for weeks after negotiations went down the toilet and Orson would ask Da-his beta to step in.

There he was doing it again, gaining the trust of another pack, knowing that even though Orson and Veronica had given their blessings for the two to go on this unofficial road trip that the two alphas would be on their tail with the entire pack behind them. He had finished his tale only to again have Leah assault his thoughts. He couldn't deny that the girl although edgy personality wise seemed to calm him in a way. He had enjoyed simply sitting next to her during the bonfire, and although his attempts at playing with her may have been misconstrued with flirting, he found he didn't mind. He also noticed how close and open his sister was with Leah's brother. Again his older brother senses were on high alert but for some reason he felt he could trust the teen. After hearing the Quileute legends about imprinting he assumed it was that magical bond that had something to do with his sister's uncharacteristic openness and comfort with these people. Leah had confirmed his thoughts when they went on their walk. She had also cleared up some details about what had happened in the week of his sister's arrival. Again a feeling of contentment flooded him.

It didn't take long for word to reach Orson that Tre and his sister had come in contact with a new shape shifting pack. Before long Tre's anticipated few day stay was extended until the panthers reached Washington. They'd been in Florida when he and his sister had first left them. He knew how long it took to move a pack of their size across country so he stayed put, fearing that he would quickly over stay his welcome. Mostly everyone had taken to he and his sister well. They remained perfectly well behaved guests. Tre only worried about how Sam had started to become more vocal in his disapproval of him, causing scenes that he never brought to the Clearwaters attention. Sam, always with his two lackeys, Jared and Paul. Tamyra had been with him once when the three had practically cornered him on the beach. Sam issued threats in his dead, monotonous tone. Tre tried to remain civil, his instincts both natural and supernatural, crying out for him to act out but he didn't, just choosing to nod his understanding of the warnings and choosing to put as much distance between himself and the alpha. It was probably a good thing that he hadn't revealed to Sam that Billy had insinuated that Tre be a father figure in Leonard's life.

That day continued to stick in Tre's mind. It was strange considering that since Leah was practically Leo's main caregiver now and she was also the mother to their daughter, that Tre had taken to Leo as well. The conversation with Rachel, and Billy seemed prophetic somehow.

His thoughts drifted back to when he'd offered to wait in the forest for the scout from the panthers. He had figured Orson would send Jay since the two were good friends but he was pleasantly surprised when Clarice had showed. Leah was again on patrol and some reason Tre found that he was apprehensive about the two meeting. He wasn't sure what the reason was but he had done it anyway. He couldn't help comparing them and strangely he found that although he enjoyed being able to embrace Clarice again without the pressures of their pack weighing on them that he could feel that his attraction to her had dwindled. Leah seemed more beautiful in some way. He had quickly discarded the fact when Leah spoke.

"She your girl?" He quickly denied it because he realized that he really could see her as being a friend and not a mate.

Tre jumped when Charlie came into the station.

"Workin hard or hardly workin Foster?" Charlie asked in his gruff voice. Tre grunted and began doing some paper work. The task soon became mindless and his thoughts continued on the trail they'd been before.

Everything had changed after that day. His pack had come and he had expected everything to be normal but in a matter of minutes everything had turned into a nightmare. His pack had many times turned their backs on packs whom had gained trust in them but this time, when Damien had encouraged Orson to go to battle Tre felt extremely sorrowful. Then when Tamyra had practically screamed traitor by saying that she wasn't leaving with the panthers, he felt like dying. He knew what came with wanting to leave the pack. She was signing her own death certificate, he was sure. He needed her to come but she'd cut him off without a second glance. When she finally admitted her imprinting and pull to Leah, he knew that she really was at home with these wolves.

He had tried to persuade her but she wouldn't have it. Seth was her home now. These people and their protecting wolves were her people. He wanted to cry out that _she_ was _his_ only home. He couldn't leave her behind.

Tre exhaled as he finished a stack of papers. He remembered the blood. His sister with those possessed eyes and voice. He remembered the cold feeling that ravaged his body when Orson had appointed him an alpha. It had been horrible. He felt a surge of power but also a surge of viciousness. This darkness enveloped his body and soul and he fought hard not to curl up into a fetal position as the darkness settled somewhere in the pit of his stomach. He let out a strangled cry as he realized he couldn't hear anyone, not even his sister. The pack was gone from his mind. He could only hear the verbal voices of those around him. Suddenly the pack was gone and only he and his sister lay in the clearing. There were approaching footsteps and he saw Seth reach his sister's weak body before he could. A spike of anger surged through him and he had yelled at her. As if it was her fault that she was possessed. He felt immediate shame and chose to not speak for a while, frightened at what may come from him.

He listened to the argument between Jacob and Embry. He mainly watched Leah though. She had come to stand by him and he felt comforted even through the agony of having been given alpha power. He wasn't sure why it was so painful to be fabricated, to be given a power one wasn't born with, but he couldn't do anything to stop it.

The days following that were tough. These unified and joyful people were suddenly distant and awkward around each other. Tre had watched as the reservation seemed to split off and take sides and he felt the pangs of guilt eat away at him. He felt as if he had caused it somehow and even with his new power bestowed upon him, he felt powerless to fix it. His negotiation skills wouldn't help him and even if they did, he doubted his own ability to control himself.

Each passing day, he became angrier and unsettled. His sister while throwing herself into becoming a part of this tribe, had noticed Tre's changes. He would fall silent for hours or days, mulling over the fact that he was losing control of himself. He didn't truly fear himself until the day he went to the forest. He had decided to isolate himself as much as possible. Leah had come out that day, she had been practicing a move he and his sister had shown her. Her presence both soothed and unnerved him and again he didn't trust himself. He had approached her and that's when he smelled it.

Her scent. Not the warning one that was sour, this one was spicy and sweet, and natural. He felt a purr build up in his throat and for once his darker side was appeased. His muscles loosened and he felt peaceful in the scent.

"I expected you to smell more like the other wolves, but this scent you give off is absolutely heavenly."

"Well that's false advertisement if I've ever seen it." She was joking but Tre had become too wrapped up in the smell to ignore it. He felt a sudden urge to get closer. "Okay that's enough cat boy, no getting intoxicated off my smell." That was when h had snapped. His dominant side that he had become nearly professional at keeping at bay came raging to the forefront. He had pinned her and practically claimed he had a right to her. It wasn't his voice. It didn't sound like him. But it was him. When she finally struggled he had been brought back to reality. He was himself again. The person he'd been for years and he was so scared that he'd lost control and with Leah of all people that he had run.

He had hoped to calm himself down, more like the other side of him that was growing more aggressive despite his natural tendency to be passive.

Tre cringed as he erased a mistake on one of the papers. Maybe that had been why fabrication was painful. Because the alpha brings out the worse, the opposing forces of a person.

Leah he noticed started avoiding him after that. Or maybe he was avoiding her, he couldn't remember. Actually they all were. When he'd gone to the pack meeting and his situation had been brought up he instantly felt offended. Although in private he was beginning to question his sanity, he surely didn't want these teenagers to think they had to baby him. That his own sister thought he was losing control. He hated that she was becoming vocal in her disapproval of his actions, of his thoughts that she could now hear once again. He had turned to being bossy, forcing her to obey him. He had blamed it on the alpha but in hindsight, he knew that it had just been buried feelings against her. She had always been able to get what she wanted out of him even when they were younger, she was the more forceful one, it had only been diminished in the past few years. He had the power against her and he was able to warp her will. He had taken advantage.

He thought it would stop there. He began hearing the echoing voices. It was as if his dark alpha side had completely developed into its own persona. He worried for his mental health. He was thankful that he didn't run into Sam as often as he used to, because he was sure that he wouldn't be able to control himself around the other alpha. His own alpha was starting to find the other males as threats. At first he wasn't sure what was being threatened. Even when he'd met the Cullens and they started training he felt as if he were suffocating in testosterone and he wasn't sure why.

That was until he woke one morning. He had barely opened Seth's bedroom door when Leah walked by. She had just taken a shower, her hair was wet and she was wrapped in only a towel. She didn't notice the door was open and he couldn't stop his curiosity as he got up and watched her stroll down the hallway. He was hit with a wave of lust so strong that he caught himself looking around to see if Jasper had snuck unto the reservation. And just as suddenly it was mixed with anger. He became angry that Leah was walking around practically exposed giving anyone besides himself the chance to see her.

It was that thought that had caused him to still. He hadn't realized he was growling and luckily she hadn't heard him. His alpha side went on a rampage, having in its deluded way convinced Tre that he had a claim over Leah, the girl who barely acknowledged him anymore. He remembered having quickly taken a cold shower then yanked Tamyra out of bed and ordered her to go to a separate training day with him alone. He couldn't trust himself around Leah that day not after having that epiphany.

Tamyra consented, she had no choice but to, and they began sparring as normal. He was being rough with her. His frustration building as he fought with his growing alpha like instincts.

"Tre what's wrong with you?" His sister's voice had broke him out of a train of vicious thoughts. He wanted Leah, badly now. He hadn't realized how manipulative his darker side could be, easily persuading him into thinking that. He was attracted to her yes. He enjoyed her presence. But he wasn't satiated. He wanted her in every way possible now. Just her presence was no longer enough to just comfort him. He needed more.

What _more_ was exactly, he hadn't been sure.

Tre rubbed his forehead in frustration at the memory. He knew where it would lead: his complete and utter downfall.

Tamyra had pushed him off of her as he had been relentlessly throwing punches, bruising her in several places. He sobered up a little when he realized what he had done to his baby sister without even meaning to. Before she could even complain about his abusive treatment of her he spoke.

"Tamyra I need you to lock me up." She didn't question him. She could hear his thoughts. She knew she didn't have time on her side because it would be long before he would again be mulling over his sinister thoughts. She took him back to the Clearwaters, locked him in Seth's room and barricaded the door with her body. She knew it would be hours before Leah and Seth would be back from training at the Cullens. And those had been the most trying hours for him.

Tre had fought his unnatural urges. The ones that screamed at him to simply knock the door off its hinges, incapacitate his sister and run off to claim Leah. He fought them for hours. Now he wished he had fought harder. He ended up resigning himself to his feelings. Soon he was throwing tantrums. Angry that he couldn't get to Leah. Frustrated with his sister for complying with his earlier request. Tense because he then knew what he _really_ wanted from Leah. He began banging on the door.

After that everything got hazy and dreamlike. He remembered Leah returning home. His sister explaining what was happening but he didn't care. Leah was teasing him, she stood right outside the door. He had to have her.

And he did. His memory only had a few clear pictures of a chase. He remembered his sister crying and he was slightly confused as to why he was at the beach. Then there was nothing but black. His mind cleared again when he found himself staring into Leah's eyes, those hateful agonized eyes. It took only a second for him to realize what was happening, what he was doing to her, the feelings coursing through him. He immediately started apologizing in his mind, hoping she could hear it because he no longer had control of his own voice that was uttering noises that even he didn't recognize.

He had pulled out of her wanting to comfort but feeling his feet carry him away. At that point he truly despised himself. He had left her there after invading her in the worse possible way. He ran not caring that he was naked. Only repeating the three words he could remember her saying to him.

"I hate you."

Those words had caused his body to convulse for weeks. The weeks after he had seen his sister sleeping peacefully in Seth's arms. He had no doubt what had transpired between the two. The weeks after he urged the boy to hit him. He needed to be punished. To be purged. He had taken to the woods. Finding adrenaline rushes in causing bodily harm to himself. He hated every pore on his body. He had allowed himself to be destroyed by some stupid mystical force.

"I hate you."

He wanted forgiveness he really did, but he knew as he ran a sharp stone over the same marks that had been made by Damien at the Blood Ceremony, that this was not the way to attain it. He went back to the Reservation. But before he even made it back he encountered Sam.

His anger and dominance flared but he was able to keep it at bay.

"You don't belong here." Sam said without blinking. Tre had replied without thinking.

"You need my help." A pain shot through Tre's leg as he said it but he ignored it.

"We don't need help from a bastard like you." Sam was trying to dismiss him but he knew enough not to turn his back on the unstable alpha. Tre soon learned that Sam was unstable as well.

"You don't know what you're up against. You need me so that you can help the pack, the tribe, Leah." Tre had finally got a reaction out of Sam. Although it angered him, Tre knew that Leah shared something with Sam. He could in the ways that she would watch him when he wasn't looking but she had no idea that Tre had caught many of those times.

"What do you propose?" That was the day that the deal had been made between them. Sam's pack would learn how to fight the panthers and Tre would get what he thought he needed. Repeated beatings from people who hated him. He had destroyed their lives in one way or another either directly or by association it was only fair that they destroy him.

He soon found that although it was more fulfilling than causing himself harm, it only lasted while he was being harmed. He still returned to his place in the forest feeling disgusted with himself.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." He had looked up at the voice. He knew that voice but it seemed like he hadn't heard it in years.

"Clarice?" He couldn't find her and after she chuckled he realized that he was hearing her in his thoughts again. Only her as his connection to his sister had become muffled.

"Tre you need to pull yourself together. I hate seeing you like this."

"Oh how the mighty have fallen." He mumbled back. Then realized he should say it mentally so she could actually hear it. Their mental contact became his only lifeline. It brought him back. He learned how to block his sister completely and learned that he had a connection with Leah but because of her intense hate towards him, the connection was being naturally blocked. He learned how to fortify that block. Knowing that she deserved to not have to hear him. That was only after he found out she was pregnant.

He held himself as Clarice consoled him that night. He'd raped her and gotten her pregnant. It was strange, he felt as if he'd known all along that she was with child but it didn't hit him until it was confirmed in his sister's muffled thoughts.

He had taken an insane amount of beating a few weeks later. He had overestimated his tolerance for pain and as he stumbled back into the forest after a day with Embry's pack he got disoriented and fell unconscious.

"Hey Foster, mind making another pot of Joe. Mine's is cold." Charlie requested. Tre was quick to comply. As he changed the filter on the machine, he thought back to when Charlie had picked him up in the cruiser. He knew he had been beat pretty badly. The guy had let him spend the night in a jail cell, no questions asked. He gave the chief his middle and last name not realizing how close the guy was to the Clearwaters. His disguise was rendered null and void and he hadn't known it until weeks later.

His sister had fallen unconscious as had Leah. He knew that he could save Tamyra. Clarice had taught him a healing chant that was meant to create a link with a shape shifter's subconscious mind. The part controlled by their beast. The chant was rendered only for like species though. He wouldn't be able to speak to Leah's wolf. He told Sam leaving out the part about his inability to save Leah. He just had to see them, his pack even though they probably didn't want to claim him as their alpha. Leah still had Jacob whom she was very protective of.

So he'd gone to the house with Sam and Embry. He brought Tamyra out of her coma and luckily or unluckily for him, Leah was already awake. Tre groaned in memory of her using her super strength to knee him. He was still convincing himself to this day that he'd taken it like a man. It was then that he first noticed how much he'd change. Leah looked much smaller to him than before. He was almost as tall as the wolves. Not to mention the one day he'd been in agony and he'd howled as opposed to hissing like most panthers. His body was changing and he didn't know why. He didn't know why he could simply suck things out of the minds of others and claim it as his own knowledge.

"Tre is that coffee done yet?" Charlie asked.

"Almost chief." Tre replied. Once the coffee was done he poured a mug and sat it on Charlie's desk. The older man smiled his thanks. Tre returned to his own desk. He had finally got to have Leah's presence again. It brought that familiar comforting presence it used to before he hurt her. But with it came the intense feeling to protect her. To protect her and the life she carried inside her, his family. He had thought that was why he was changing, that his dark alpha side was finally doing something good for a change, by morphing him slightly into a wolf. Giving him the extra strength he needed to be a real protector. He clung to that idea, hoping that he wasn't being lulled and indirectly leading Leah to believe that he was stable, that he could be good.

The pencil he'd been writing with snapped when he thought of Sam again. On the one hand, he'd had this bond with Sam. They were isolated, alone, being ruled by the consequences of the supernatural life. But when Sam had taken Leah on her date and proposed to her, he saw the guy as nothing more than a rival.

Tre pulled another pencil out the desk drawer. He went to continue writing but paused. When Leah had Sam cradled in her arms as he was dying. The blood pouring out of his body…Tre stopped his thought. He had been fighting just before.

"Tre what a surprise." Damien had sneered at him. Tre was throwing wild punches but the other man only laughed evily, not carrying that his nose was probably broken. "Looks like someone finally became a man."

"I'm more a man than you'll ever dream to be." Damien had reached for his neck but he evaded and kicked the guy's legs from under him.

"Is that so?"he said righting himself again. "If I'd known I would have taken you after I took your sis-" Tre cut off his sentence with a punch to his mouth. The beta stumbled backwards, again laughing. "Cute Tre. Real cute." Tre didn't have time to blink before Damien lunged and threw his body to the ground. That was when the scratching had started. They simply tore at each other's flesh. It was then that Tre realized Damien wasn't stable in his own head.

He feared it was becoming a fatal flaw to the shape shifter design. Too many in power were showing signs of instability. Or maybe the idea of fabricating alphas was a practice that should become extinct. Tre shook his head to clear his mind. Thinking this much on the past was proving tiring for him even if he felt some breakthrough. He hadn't admitted to anyone that seeing Sam die had tore at his own soul as well. He had been the only one to understand Tre even if they were on two sides of a great divide.

"Tre I got a call in, I'm gonna go check out the interstate. Someone's claiming there's a bunch of hooligans setting off firecrackers on the exit ramp."

"Little early for Fourth of July chief." Tre responded smirking.

"I'd say so." With that Charlie grabbed his coffee and headed out the door. Tre again found himself alone in the station. Before the feeling of isolation could depress him further he thought about his family, his pack, and how thankful he was that even after all they'd been through he still had people to love, to care about. There in the station on a Saturday afternoon was the day Tre made the promise to protect his family no matter what…or he'd die trying.


	45. Dimprint EXTRA: Sam

**A/N: 5-19-10**I bet you got the email for this and was like woah! Aint read this in a while. Surprise! I found this practically finished chapter from Sam's POV just after Emily dies in The Dimprint so I decided to post it. Also I realized that I never officially announced the sequel here LOL! It's called Song of a Shifter if there's any readers that didn't know that. I edited this a little because it was more reminiscent of my writing ability between Dimprint and Bliss/Agony soooo it was kind of painful and cringe worthy :p so it's kind of fixed but not really. okay I'm done talking. This will probably be the official end of updates on Til Imprint.

* * *

Order. Brotherhood. Family.

It was what kept our pack together. Kept us functioning.

Kept us whole.

And in a mere minutes everything dissolved. Everything.

I was alpha. The top dog. Even if Jake was still canoodling with the Cullens, we had finally settled into some pattern of peace. I was married, and we were expecting. Any day my family would finally become just that, a real family with Emily, myself, our son whom we decided to name Leonard Levi. Emily wanted the boy to have a name that was a play off of Leah's name. I had agreed because my sweet Emily knew the best way to honor the girl-the woman- who's life we had completely shattered. The woman who showed up at our house-the house she once wanted to share with me- and tell us that what she was feeling had been petty. I told her that her feelings of betrayal weren't petty so had Emily but she told us they were petty because while she hadn't completely healed she had almost gotten over me a while ago. Almost.

Leah.

A year later and she was becoming friends with Emily again.

Then that dimprint happened. And we were all sent on this downhill spiral. And every bone in my body wanted to blame it on Leah. What destruction she had brought upon us. Again.

Then I always felt bad about my thoughts because it wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault before when we thought she would single handedly destroy us with her negative vibes and bitter thoughts.

She got better. She chose Jake. Somehow I couldn't quite thwart that feeling of jealousy. The guy had a monopoly on healing other guy's girls.

Then again, I guess Leah wasn't my girl anymore.

"_Emi I'm here!" I ran into the house, my thoughts a mess. A girl was out in the woods. She could shift into a panther and she was Seth's imprint. Loveable happy Seth who used to look up to me like I was his older brother, had just tried to fight me over a stranger. And Emily, had nearly died. _

_By my own mistake._

_But no! That panther had moved too close to Emily. She was an enemy. Where the vampires smelled too sweet, she smelled too spicy. It was like stepping into a field of hot pepper, like sniffing too many herbs. Or your eyes burning from the juice of a habanera. It was horrid, she had to be an enemy._

_And now my wife is safe. Giving birth and I can hear her cries already. I heard Leah scurry out the back door. The dimprint was still keeping us separate. I ran into the bedroom not quite ready for what was about to happen._

"_Sam, get some towels out of my bag and then get over there and hold your wife." _

"_Yes ma'am." I did as I was told, in a daze listening to Collin's mom's orders. She was our midwife. Emily hadn't wanted to go to the hospital, as much as I protested. _

Thinking back I wish I would have protested harder.

_No drugs, hardly any equipment. It was to be a natural birth in the comfort of our own home. The child would build a greater connection with this place being born in it, as well as acquire a stronger immune system. That's what we were led to believe in choosing a home birth._ Never mind the risks to the mother.

Labor and delivery had only lasted a few minutes but it had felt like hours. I just didn't understand.

"You're doing great Emily. Just one more good push." That last push. Emily had been smiling when the baby was revealed. He was beautiful. His cries filled the room just as I picked the sounds of joyous howling outside. Some of the guys must have been listening in.

In that moment, my entire world was perfect. I had a son and I was already making promises to be ten times better than the father I had. He was going to grow up learn about the tribe and be educated. He would go to college and be successful in a way that I could have but was denied because of my duties. His life would be peaceful and he would return home to his elderly parents with his wife and kids telling about all of his happiness and woes. I had thought all of this before I'd even had time to cut the umbilical cord and the newborn was placed into my wife's arms. She took one look at me.

I was beaming but she wasn't. She was smiling but it was a sad smile. And I could read Emily like an open book. Those weren't tears of joy in her eyes.

"Em-" Her eyes closed suddenly. And her hold on our son loosened incredibly.

And everything went dark.

"-mily! Stay with us!" Collin's mom hurried back and forth trying to do everything she could to get Emily to wake up but I knew it was no use. I stood at the foot of her bed. I could feel myself getting torn apart but I could do nothing to stop it. She placed a weight in my arms and I nearly dropped it. "Sam! The baby! Hold the baby!" I flinched, not being able to see her face, barely making out her words. I couldn't even tell I was holding the child. All I could see was Emily's breathing slowing and then hearing her heart stop completely.

It was so sudden that it didn't make sense.

Emily was dead. Gone.

And she had taken half my soul with her.

"We need to get her to the hospital."

The nearest hospital was miles away in Forks. She was gone. Because if there was even a chance to save her, I wouldn't be locked in this darkness right now. I tensed my body but loosened it when the baby started crying loudly. I had probably almost crushed the child but what was worse was that I hardly cared. How fickle was I that moments ago I was fantasizing about my son growing up and leading this wholesome life and the next I almost kill him. One moment I'm praising Leah for her herculean effort in becoming cordial with my wife again and the next I'm scorning her for suffering from my presence and threatening to become the bitter harpy she was before.

All because of Emily.

My right hand dug harshly into my hair, yanking at it by the roots as if I truly wanted to draw blood. I wanted to cry, yell, scream, anything to make the pain go away.

She was dead. My imprint was dead. My soul mate was dead. Half of me…is gone.

And what's left wishes it was as well.

"Sam." I hardly recognized the midwife's voice. "I'm sorry." Sam mentally scoffed. She had no idea what Iwas feeling. No idea the turmoil that was quickly beginning to take me over. Was this completely dark and foreign feeling to define my existence for the rest of my life? It was like I was numbed to all positive feeling but anything negative, anything hurtful would pain me much more than it should. I faintly heard the door click as it was shut. It echoed in my ears as if the rest of the world was shutting me out as well. I heard the sounds of pack mates approaching but they never got very close to the house. They had to know something was wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong didn't even begin to describe what this was. This…this absolute horrific joke fate has played on me. To give me this woman, this beautiful soulful woman, have me hurt her and her cousin give us a few wonderful years together then snatch her away before she can even utter her son's name to him. And those wonderful years were mostly spent with her worrying about me or us worrying about Leah. So I got maybe two years of semi-bliss? A shiver went up my spine and I didn't bother to suppress it.

Order. .

I always maintained order, over the pack, over myself. Now, I could go into a frenzy and destroy this town and think nothing of it.

Family?

My happy family was stolen from me.

Maybe I still have brotherhood. But those kids will grow tired of me, I know it. They won't want to see into this mind. And soon I'll be the outcast, the pack mate no one wants to deal with.

Oh how the tables have turned.

I sat on the windowsill and stared at the sunset, willing my life to end with this end of sunlight.

The door opens and I foolishly allow myself to muse on the possibility that the world hasn't forgotten me yet.

"Emily?" The voice is tentative and I can finally pick out the distinction of Leah's voice. I don't turn back to look at her, but hear her as she strolls over to her unresponsive cousin. For a few moments I envy her, in her world, in those few moments, Emily is still alive. "Sam?" Not any longer. I turn to face her selfishly wondering if she is suffering as much as I am now.

The blurry feeling of the world brightens and clears when I lay eyes on Leah. It doesn't clear much but just enough that I can actually see. I can almost taste the feeling starting to seep back into me. And for a few fleeting seconds I can allow the numbness to wear off as the comfortable warmth flows from her to me.

"She-" the words catch in my throat as I revel in this feeling."She had an aneurism." It's not another imprint. "Emily's dead." But it's enough to keep me alive.

For now, _she's_ enough to keep me alive.


End file.
